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Jan. 21: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

Release No: UNRELEASED Jan. 21, 2016 PRINT | E-MAIL

January 21, 2016
Release # 20160121-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 20, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted one strike using fighter aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, 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 Dayr Ar Zawr, one strike destroyed four ISIL cranes.

Iraq
* Near Al Qaim, one strike produced inconclusive results.
* Near Fallujah, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed an ISIL weapons cache, two ISIL assembly areas, and an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Mosul, three strikes destroyed nine ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL weapons cache, two ISIL command and control nodes, and five ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike struck an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) factory.
* Near Ramadi, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL VBIED, an ISIL home-made explosives (HME) cache, an ISIL staging area, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL building, an ISIL petroleum oil and lubricant truck, and cratered an ISIL-used road.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed 14 ISIL fighting positions.

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.