March 9, 2016
Release # 20160309-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On March 8, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL
terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six
strikes using attack and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in
Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in
support of the Government of Iraq using 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 Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two ISIL cranes.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes struck an ISIL modular
refinery and an ISIL natural gas processing plant.
* Near Mar'a, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and
destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.
Iraq
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical
units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL
assembly area.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical
unit and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, five ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL
vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed five ISIL fighting
positions and two ISIL mortar fire positions.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical
unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar fire position and an ISIL assembly area and
suppressed an ISIL fighting 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, 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.