Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, February 19, 2016 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, ground-attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an ISIL workover rig.

-- Near Hasakah, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL vehicles and two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Hawl, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Manbij, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Strikes in Iraq

Rocket artillery and fighter, attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Baghdadi, one strike destroyed eight ISIL rocket rails.

-- Near Albu Hayat, one strike destroyed 13 ISIL rocket rails.

-- Near Hit, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL weapons storage facility and destroyed 12 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL excavator, and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Ramadi, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL staging areas.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct operations.

Coalition nations conducting strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.