March 4, 2016
Release # 20160304-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On March 3, 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 eight
strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using 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 Hasakah, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL vehicle, and damaged an ISIL
tunnel system.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes struck two ISIL petroleum pipelines.
Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an
ISIL vehicle and an ISIL sniper position.
* Near Bayji, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 16
ISIL vehicles.
* Near Fallujah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL
supply cache.
* Near Mosul, one strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed three ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL
fighting positions, and two ISIL assembly areas.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed
an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL bed down location, and three ISIL fighting
positions.
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.