PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 9, 2015
Dec. 9: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 09, 2015

Release # 20151209-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA- On Dec. 8, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted four strikes using fighter, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and fighter, bomber, attack, 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 Dayr Az Zawr, one strike struck an ISIL oil well-head.
* Near Mar’a, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Abu Kamal, one strike struck an ISIL oil well-head.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.

Iraq

* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed four ISIL bunkers and seven ISIL trenches.
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, two ISIL rockets, and an ISIL weapons cache.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, two ISIL fighting positions, and suppressed an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Kisik, one strike destroyed four ISIL rockets.
* Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Qayyarah, seven strikes struck an ISIL logistical facility, an ISIL training facility, an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL weapons storage facility, two ISIL staging areas, an ISIL tactical unit, and destroyed an ISIL bunker.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes struck three separate large ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL bed down locations, two ISIL light machine guns, two ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL recoilless rifle, four ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL tactical vehicle, three ISIL buildings, four ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED), an ISIL VBIED factory, an ISIL staging area, an ISIL compound, an ISIL resupply location, two ISIL command and control nodes, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and immobilized an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building.
* Near Fallujah, one strike destroyed an ISIL homemade explosives cache, an ISIL bed down location, and a VBIED factory.

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.