PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 23, 2016
Feb. 23: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 23, 2016
Release # 20160223-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 22, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes using ground-attack, attack, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter aircraft against ISIL targets.
The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:
Syria
* Near Al Hasakah, five strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed six ISIL buildings and suppressed two ISIL sniper positions and two ISIL fighting positions and damaged an ISIL building.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes struck six ISIL gas and oil separation plant wellheads.
* Near Manbij, one strike destroyed two ISIL buildings.
Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL supply cache and an ISIL staging area.
* Near Kisik, seven strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, three ISIL staging areas, an ISIL headquarters, an ISIL bed down location, and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.
* Near Makhmur, one strike destroyed an ISIL assembly area.
* Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units.
* Near Sinjar, one strike suppressed an ISIL light machine gun position.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike suppressed an ISIL light machine gun position.
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.