PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 10, 2016
Feb. 10: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 10, 2016

Release # 20160210-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 9, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted two strikes using fighter and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 18 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 Mar’a, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike destroyed an ISIL supply cache.
* Near Al Huwayjah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) and two ISIL vehicles.
* Near Habbaniyah, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Haditha, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Mosul, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 15 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle, and an ISIL checkpoint.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun position, an ISIL VBIED facility, and cratered an ISIL-used road.
* Near Sinjar, three strikes destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and suppressed two separate ISIL mortar 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.