March 16, 2016
Release # 20160316-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST
ASIA — On March 15, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL
terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces
conducted two strikes using attack aircraft against ISIL targets.
Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes
coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack
and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets.
The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:
Syria
* Near Al Hawl, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed nine ISIL fighting positions.
Iraq
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun.
*
Near Hit, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL assembly area, six ISIL rocket
rails, two ISIL weapons caches, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece and an
ISIL mortar position and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed four ISIL assembly areas and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.
*
Near Sinjar, three strikes destroyed three ISIL heavy machine guns and
four ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun
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.