PRESS RELEASE | April 15, 2016
April 15: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
April 15, 2016

Release # 20160415-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On April 14, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes using attack and ground-attack aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 30 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, ground-attack, and fighter 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 destroyed an ISIL bulldozer.
* Near Mar’a, five strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and four ISIL vehicles.

Iraq
* Near Hit, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 18 ISIL boats, an ISIL command and control node, and an ISIL weapons cache and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL tunnel system.
* Near Mosul, 21 strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, 18 ISIL modular oil refineries, and two ISIL crude oil stills and destroyed an ISIL assembly area.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed 33 ISIL boats.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL assembly area, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL mortar cache, and an ISIL mortar system.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar 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.

Ground-based artillery fired in counter-fire or in fire support to maneuver roles are not classified as a strike as defined by CJTF-OIR.

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, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Coalition nations which have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.