PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 25, 2016
Jan. 25: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
January 25, 2016

Release # 20160125-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 24, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes using fighter, attack, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and attack, 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 Abu Kamal, one strike struck an ISIL-used earthen bridge.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike destroyed three ISIL cranes and damaged a fourth ISIL crane.
* Near Al Hawl, one strike destroyed two ISIL buildings and an ISIL vehicle.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed two ISIL weapons caches and an ISIL bunker.
* Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed three separate ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL light machine gun.
* Near Mosul, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL communications facility, and four ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ramadi, six strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL barge, an ISIL sniper position, two ISIL bunkers, two ISIL mortar positions, an ISIL weapons cache, three ISIL buildings, three ISIL tactical vehicles, and cratered an ISIL-used earthen bridge.
* Near Sinjar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed seven ISIL fighting positions.

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.