PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 8, 2016
Jan. 8: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
January 8, 2016

Release # 20160108-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 7, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes using fighter, and attack aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery, fighter, and bomber aircraft against ISIL targets. Coalition military forces conducted one strike in Iraq in support of Coalition operations using fighter aircraft.

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

Syria
* Near Ayn Isa, two strikes destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and suppressed a separate ISIL fighting position.
* Near Manbij, one strike destroyed three ISIL staging areas.

Iraq
* Near Al Qaim, one strike struck inoperable Coalition equipment denying ISIL access in support of Coalition operations.
* Near Haditha, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Irbil, one strike suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun position.
* Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL tunnel, four ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL bunker, and an ISIL command and control node.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike struck an ISIL petroleum refinery.
* Near Ramadi, six strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 16 ISIL fighting positions, 13 ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL obstacle, an ISIL improvised explosive device (IED) cluster, an ISIL house borne IED (HBIED), 11 ISIL vehicle borne IED (VBIED) facilities, three ISIL staging areas, two ISIL sniper positions, two ISIL tunnel entrances, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, one strike suppressed an ISIL light machine gun position.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL assembly areas, and an ISIL command and control node.

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.