PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 7, 2015
Dec. 7: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 07, 2015

Release # 20151207-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 6, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter, bomber, and attack aircraft against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria
* Near Al Hawl, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed nine ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), and three ISIL vehicles.
* Near Dayr Ar Zawr, four strikes struck four ISIL oil well-heads.
* Near Mar’a, one strike damaged an ISIL artillery piece.

Iraq
* Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun.
* Near Mosul, one strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ramadi, seven strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 13 ISIL buildings, nine ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL heavy machine guns, three ISIL staging areas, two ISIL house borne IEDs, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL tunnel, an ISIL IED, an ISIL assembly area, wounded five ISIL fighters, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

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.