PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 23, 2015
Dec. 23: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 23, 2015

Release # 20151223-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 22, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 24 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, 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 Al Hawl, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL building, an ISIL vehicle, four ISIL fighting positions, and an ISIL rocket system.
* Near Al Hasakah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Manbij, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Mar’a, two strikes destroyed two ISIL heavy machine guns and two ISIL mortar systems.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Habbaniyah, five strikes struck four ISIL staging areas and an ISIL headquarters.
* Near Mosul, eight strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL building, an ISIL crane, an ISIL bulldozer, two ISIL excavators, two ISIL vehicles, five ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL light machine gun, an ISIL checkpoint, and wounded an ISIL fighter.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL bunker, 19 ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL sniper positions, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, four ISIL RPG positions, two ISIL recoilless rifles, two ISIL grenade launcher positions, two ISIL heavy machine gun positions, three ISIL command and control nodes, two ISIL bed down locations, an ISIL staging area, cratered an ISIL-used road, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Fallujah, one strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.
* Near Kisik, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.
* 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.