Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, February 22, 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, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Hasakah, seven strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, four ISIL buildings and four ISIL vehicles and suppressed an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

-- Near Hawl, two strikes destroyed two ISIL-used bridges.

-- Near Ayn Isa, two strikes destroyed three ISIL buildings and two ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes struck three ISIL-used logistics routes.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter aircraft conducted five strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Fallujah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Mosul, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Ramadi, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL staging area.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun 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 terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

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.