PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 4, 2016
Jan. 4: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
January 4, 2016

Release # 20160104-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 3, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted one strike using attack aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 25 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and attack, bomber, 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 Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed five ISIL buildings.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL machine gun, an ISIL fighting position, five ISIL weapons caches, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), and five ISIL rocket rails. The strikes also suppressed two ISIL mortar positions and an ISIL VBIED, cratered an ISIL-used road, wounded three ISIL fighters, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Fallujah, one strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL bunker.
* Near Haditha, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL VBIED, four ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
* Near Kisik, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Mosul, 12 strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL excavator, four ISIL weapons caches, ISIL engineering equipment, three ISIL heavy machine guns, 12 ISIL assembly areas, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike struck an ISIL-used bridge.
* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions and four buildings and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and suppressed two ISIL machine gun positions.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed 10 ISIL bunkers.

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.