March 21, 2016
Release # 20160321-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST
ASIA — On March 20, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL
terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces
conducted four strikes using attack aircraft against ISIL targets.
Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes
coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using 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 Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Kobani, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.
*
Near Manbij, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an
ISIL heavy machine gun position and an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Mar'a, one strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
Iraq
* Near Hit, one strike produced inconclusive results.
* Near Kisik, one strike suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Mosul, three strikes struck an ISIL headquarters and destroyed an ISIL mortar position and two ISIL fighting postions.
* Near Ramadi, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed three ISIL supply caches.
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.