PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 2, 2016
Feb. 2: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 02, 2016

Release # 20160202-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 1, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using 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 Ar Raqqah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL excavators.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes struck two ISIL gas and oil separation plant well heads.
* Near Manbij, two strikes struck an ISIL training facility and destroyed three ISIL buildings.

Iraq
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL staging area.
* Near Habbaniyah, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, three ISIL front end loaders, and an ISIL homemade explosives cache.
* Near Kisik, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL fighting position, and an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Mosul, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL checkpoint and destroyed an ISIL homemade explosives cache.
* Near Qayyarah, six strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL bunker, and an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL staging areas, an ISIL vehicle, four ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL weapons cache, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, 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.