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Press Release | Dec. 28, 2015

Dec. 28: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

December 28, 2015
Release # 20151228-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 27, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes using attack and remotely piloted aircraft. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and fighter, attack, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria
* Near Hasakah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL building.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Manbij, eleven strikes struck seven separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), an ISIL building, cratered two ISIL-used roads, and damaged an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Mar'a, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL staging area.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.
* Near Fallujah, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building and an ISIL bunker.
* Near Kisik, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL bulldozer.
* Near Mosul, eight strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL vehicles, six ISIL fighting positons, an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL checkpoint, and an ISIL tactical vehicle.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed seven ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL RPG positions, an ISIL bulldozer, two ISIL buildings, an ISIL staging area, an ISIL VBIED staging area, denied ISIS access to terrain, and wounded 12 ISIL fighters.
* Near Sinjar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Tal Afar, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL assembly area.

Strike assessments are based on initial reports. All aircraft returned to base safely.

A strike, as defined in the CJTF releases, means one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative effect for that location. So having a single aircraft deliver a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of buildings and vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making that facility (or facilities) harder or impossible to use. Accordingly, CJTF-OIR does 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.

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