PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 24, 2016
Feb. 24: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 24, 2016

Release # 20160224-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 23, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes using ground-attack, attack, and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted four 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, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL buildings, an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL fighting position, and suppressed a separate ISIL mortar system.
* Near Al Hawl, seven strikes destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL building, two ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL vehicles, and suppressed an ISIL mortar system and an ISIL heavy machine gun and cratered two ISIL-used roads.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike suppressed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) and an ISIL anti-air artillery piece.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Manbij, one strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

Iraq
* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.
* Near Ramadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed two ISIL weapons caches and five ISIL assembly areas.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed seven ISIL fighting 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.