March 15, 2016
Release # 20160315-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST
ASIA — On March 14, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL
terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces
conducted three strikes using fighter aircraft against ISIL targets.
Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes
coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket
artillery and 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 AL Hawl, three strikes destroyed seven ISIL fighting positions.
Iraq
* Near AL Huwayjah, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
*
Near Hit, four strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL
improvised weapons factory and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions
and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.
* Near Kirkuk, two strikes
destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL fighting position and
suppressed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Mosul, four strikes
struck an ISIL training camp and two ISIL improvised explosive device
factories and destroyed four ISIL assembly areas.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck two large ISIL tactical units.
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.