PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 5, 2016
Feb. 5: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 05, 2016
Release # 20160205-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 4, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using ground-attack, 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, one strike struck an ISIL staging area.
* Near Al Hawl, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Manbij, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL building and two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Mar’a, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL command and control node.
Iraq
* Near Fallujah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL rocket position, an ISIL fighting position, and an ISIL boat.
* Near Kisik, one strike destroyed an ISIL improvised explosives device (IED) facility.
* Near Mosul, five strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL weapon caches, three ISIL assembly areas, and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL rocket positions, an ISIL weapons cache, and two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL staging areas, four ISIL weapon caches, an ISIL bed down location, and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL weapons cache, and two ISIL command and control nodes.
* Near Tikrit, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
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.