December 21, 2015
Release # 20151221-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 20, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL
terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces
conducted three strikes using ground-attack and remotely piloted
aircraft. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes
coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack,
fighter, bomber, ground-attack, 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 Mar'a, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL staging area and an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL road obstacle and an ISIL improvised explosive device (IED).
Iraq
*
Near Bayji, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed an ISIL RPG, an ISIL heavy machine gun, seven ISIL vehicles,
two ISIL caches, and an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Mosul, six
strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, an ISIL weapons storage
facility, and an ISIL weapons cache and destroyed two ISIL heavy
machine guns, an ISIL mortar tube, three ISIL fighting positions, an
ISIL checkpoint, two ISIL vehicles, and suppressed an ISIL light machine
gun.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes struck a large ISIL tactical
unit and destroyed eight ISIL buildings, eight ISIL fighting positions,
an ISIL staging area, an ISIL command and control node, an ISIL tactical
vehicle, three ISIL heavy machine guns, and denied ISIL access to
terrain.
Additionally, there was an additional strike from Dec. 19 that was not included on the Dec. 20 strike release:
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike struck five ISIL gas and oil separation points and two ISIL crude oil collection points.
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.