Military Strikes Target ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, February 29, 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 12 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant.

-- Near Raqqah, a strike struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant.

-- Near Ayn Isa, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed eight ISIL buildings, an ISIL fuel tanker, an ISIL tactical vehicle and seven ISIL vehicles.

-- Near Mar'a, three strikes destroyed four ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Tal Abyad, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units, destroyed two ISIL buildings and an ISIL vehicle and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 12 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb.

-- Near Fallujah, a strike destroyed an ISIL front end loader and an ISIL tunnel system.

-- Near Kisik, a strike suppressed an ISIL rocket fire position.

-- Near Mosul, a strike struck an ISIL vehicle bomb factory.

-- Near Ramadi, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL staging areas and two ISIL petroleum, oil and lubricant trucks.

-- Near Sinjar, three strikes destroyed six ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL mortar position and an ISIL sniper position.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike suppressed an ISIL mortar 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 that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.