March 3, 2016
Release # 20160303-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On March 2, coalition military forces
continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition
military forces conducted eight strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely
piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military
forces conducted 21 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government
of Iraq using attack, fighter, ground-attack, 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 Al Hasakah, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed an ISIL vehicle, three ISIL buildings, an ISIL vehicle borne
improvised explosive device (VBIED), and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
* Near Mar'a, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and three ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Palmyra, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed six
ISIL vehicles and three ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Tal Abyad, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed ISIL
communication equipment.
Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an
ISIL heavy machine gun and two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Habbaniyah, one strike destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece.
* Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 27 ISIL
rocket rails.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes struck four ISIL tactical units and destroyed three
ISIL vehicles, 12 ISIL assembly areas, and 25 ISIL bed-down locations, and suppressed
an ISIL heavy machine gun position.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL front-end
loader, an ISIL bed down location, and an ISIL petroleum, oil and lubricant
truck.
* Near Samarra, two strikes struck two separate large ISIL tactical units and
destroyed 9 ISIL vehicles, three ISIL VBIEDs, an ISIL fighting position, an
ISIL supply cache, and three ISIL fuel trucks.
* Near Sinjar, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five
ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL assembly area, an ISIL mortar position, and
suppressed an ISIL mortar fire position.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed
an ISIL fighting position.
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, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Coalition nations
which have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada,
France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates,
the United Kingdom, and the United States.