PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 30, 2015
Dec. 30: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 30, 2015

Release # 20151230-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 29, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted four strikes using attack, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 24 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter, attack, 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 Hasakah, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.
* Near Aleppo, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike struck an ISIL main oil pump station.

Iraq
* Near Fallujah, one strike damaged an ISIL trench system.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL bunker.
* Near Mosul, nine strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL assembly area, an ISIL bed down location, 20 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL tunnel.
* Near Ramadi, seven strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), three ISIL vehicles, an ISIL tactical vehicle, an ISIL rocket rail, an ISIL building, an ISIL homemade explosives (HME) cache, an ISIL front end loader, two ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL heavy machine gun positions, wounded an ISIL fighter, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, two ISIL fighting positions, and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL sniper position.
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Hit, one strike struck an ISIL VBIED storage facility.

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.