March 30, 2016
Release # 20160330-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST
ASIA —On March 29, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL
terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces
conducted four strikes using ground-attack, attack, and fighter aircraft
against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces
conducted 20 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 Mar'a, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed seven ISIL bunkers.
* Near Manbij, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL boat.
* Near Habbaniyah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
*
Near Hit, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL
safe house and destroyed two ISIL assembly areas and an ISIL vehicle
borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).
* Near Mosul, five
strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL
assembly areas, an ISIL weapons cache, and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near
Qayyarah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and
destroyed two ISIL tunnels and an ISIL assembly area.
* Near
Sultan Abdallah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and
destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position and suppressed
an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike destroyed two ISIL assembly areas.
* Near Kisik, one strike destroyed an ISIL assembly area.
* Near Makhmur, one strike destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed an ISIL assembly area and 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.
Ground-based
artillery fired in counter-fire or in fire support to maneuver roles
are not classified as a strike as defined by CJTF-OIR.
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.