January 6, 2016
Release # 20160106-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 5, coalition military forces
continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition
military forces conducted one strike using fighter aircraft. Separately in
Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes coordinated with and in
support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and fighter, attack,
ground-attack, bomber, 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 Ar Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL headquarters building.
Iraq
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an
ISIL fighting position and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
* Near Haditha, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL
vehicles, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), an ISIL
heavy machine gun, an ISIL fighting position, and wounded six ISIL fighters.
* Near Kisik, five strikes destroyed two ISIL bunkers, nine ISIL fighting
positions, 11 ISIL assembly areas, and suppressed a separate ISIL fighting
position and an ISIL machine gun position.
* Near Mosul, one strike destroyed an ISIL rocket cache.
* Near Ramadi, eight strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed four ISIL staging areas, three ISIL buildings, an ISIL front-end
loader, six ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, an ISIL
rocket propelled grenade system, an ISIL recoilless rifle, three ISIL vehicles,
and four ISIL heavy machine guns. The strikes also damaged an ISIL tactical
vehicle, denied ISIL access to terrain, and wounded three ISIL fighters.
* Near Sinjar, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and damaged
an ISIL bunker.
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.