September 23, 2014
Release #20140925
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TAMPA, Fla., Sept.
23 — U.S. military forces and partner nations, including the Kingdom of
Bahrain, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, undertook military action against
ISIL terrorists in Syria overnight, using a mix of fighter, bomber,
remotely piloted aircraft and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles to conduct
14 strikes against ISIL targets.
The strikes destroyed or damaged
multiple ISIL targets in the vicinity of Ar Raqqah, Dayr az Zawr, Al
Hasakah, and Abu Kamal and included ISIL fighters, training compounds,
headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a
finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles.
To conduct these
strikes, the United States employed 47 TLAMs launched from USS Arleigh
Burke and USS Philippine Sea operating from international waters in the
Red Sea and North Arabian Gulf, as well as U.S. Air Force, Navy and
Marine Corps fighter, remotely piloted and bomber aircraft deployed to
the U.S. Central Command area of operations. In addition, the Kingdom of
Bahrain, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also participated in or supported the
airstrikes against ISIL targets. All aircraft safely exited the strike
areas.
Also, in Iraq yesterday, U.S. military forces continued to
attack ISIL terrorists, using attack aircraft to conduct four
airstrikes. The airstrikes destroyed two ISIL Humvees, an ISIL armed
vehicle and an ISIL fighting position southwest of Kirkuk. All aircraft
exited the strike areas safely. To date, U.S. Central Command has
conducted a total of 194 airstrikes across Iraq against ISIL.
The
United States conducted these strikes as part of the President's
comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL. Going
forward, the U.S. military will continue to conduct targeted airstrikes
against ISIL in Syria and Iraq as local forces go on the offensive
against this terrorist group.
Separately, the United States has
also taken action to disrupt the imminent attack plotting against the
United States and Western interests conducted by a network of seasoned
al-Qa'ida veterans - sometimes referred to as the Khorasan Group - who
have established a safe haven in Syria to develop external attacks,
construct and test improvised explosive devices and recruit Westerners
to conduct operations. These strikes were undertaken only by U.S.
assets.
In total, U.S. Central Command conducted eight strikes
against Khorasan Group targets west of Aleppo to include training camps,
an explosives and munitions production facility, a communication
building and command and control facilities.