December 24, 2015
Release # 20151224-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 23, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL
terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces
conducted six strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted
aircraft. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 18 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 destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Mar'a, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system and an ISIL fighting position.
*
Near Manbij, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL logistics facility.
Iraq
*
Near Albu Hayat, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed
an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and 24 ISIL rockets.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
*
Near Mosul, nine strikes struck seven separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed 24 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles, two ISIL heavy
machine guns, an ISIL excavator, and an ISIL assembly area.
*
Near Ramadi, five strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed an ISIL fighting position, five ISIL command and control
nodes, an ISIL tactical vehicle, an ISIL bed-down location, an ISIL
artillery site, cratered five ISIL-used roads, and denied ISIL access to
terrain.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar 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, 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.