PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 14, 2015
Dec. 14: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 14, 2015

Release # 20151214-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 13, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter and bomber aircraft against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant.
* Near Manbij, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Mar’a, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and damaged an ISIL staging area.

Iraq
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Kisik, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED), two ISIL improvised explosive devices (IED), five ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and an ISIL light machine gun.
* Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL mortar tube.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck three ISIL staging areas and destroyed an ISIL bed down location, two ISIL staging areas, an ISIL command and control node, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and two light machine guns.
* Near Tikrit, one strike destroyed two ISIL oil tanks.

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.