PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 12, 2016
Feb. 12: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 12, 2016

Release # 20160212-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 11, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 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:

Iraq
* Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Mosul, six strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 21 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL supply cache, two ISIL assembly areas, and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ramadi, five strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL machine gun, an ISIL bed down location, an ISIL command and control node, and two ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) facilities.
* Near Sinjar, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.

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.