PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 25, 2015
Dec. 25: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 25, 2015

Release # 20151225-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 24, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and attack, 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 Ayn Isa, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL excavators.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike struck an ISIL crude oil collection point.
* Near Mar’a, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and wounded an ISIL fighter.
* Near Manbij, five strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL vehicles, an ISIL fighting position, and wounded two ISIL fighters.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, three strikes struck an ISIL cave complex, an ISIL staging facility, an ISIL staging area, and destroyed three ISIL buildings.
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed an ISIL trench system.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Makhmur, one strike suppressed an ISIL mortar firing position.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 13 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL heavy machine gun, five ISIL rockets, four ISIL bunkers, an ISIL command and control node, an ISIL assembly area, and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, seven ISIL house borne improvised explosive devices (HBIED), three ISIL staging areas, three ISIL buildings, two ISIL tunnels, an ISIL homemade explosives (HME) cache, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed 10 ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL staging area.

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.