December 25, 2015
Release # 20151225-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 24, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL
terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces
conducted 12 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted
aircraft. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes
coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket
artillery and attack, fighter, and bomber 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 struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL excavators.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike struck an ISIL crude oil collection point.
*
Near Mar'a, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and wounded an ISIL fighter.
*
Near Manbij, five strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed six ISIL vehicles, an ISIL fighting position, and wounded two
ISIL fighters.
Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, three strikes
struck an ISIL cave complex, an ISIL staging facility, an ISIL staging
area, and destroyed three ISIL buildings.
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed an ISIL trench system.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Makhmur, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar firing position.
*
Near Mosul, seven strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed 13 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL heavy
machine gun, five ISIL rockets, four ISIL bunkers, an ISIL command and
control node, an ISIL assembly area, and suppressed an ISIL mortar
position.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck two separate ISIL
tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, seven ISIL
house borne improvised explosive devices (HBIED), three ISIL staging
areas, three ISIL buildings, two ISIL tunnels, an ISIL homemade
explosives (HME) cache, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive
device (VBIED), and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed 10 ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL staging 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.