PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 27, 2015
Dec. 27: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 27, 2015

Release # 20151227-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 26, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes using attack and remotely piloted aircraft. In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 28 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter, attack, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.

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

Syria
* Near Manbij, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL weapons cache, and wounded ISIL fighters.
* Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes destroyed three ISIL excavators, two ISIL bulldozers, and damaged an ISIL excavator.

Iraq
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike destroyed two ISIL heavy machine guns and an ISIL homemade explosive cache.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 15 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL bunker, four ISIL assembly areas, three ISIL command control nodes, and cratered two ISIL roads, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes destroyed two ISIL tactical vehicles, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), an ISIL VBIED factory, an ISIL VBIED staging location, an ISIL building, two ISIL house borne improvised explosive devices (HBIED), an ISIL staging area, an ISIL fighting position, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, six strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL-used bridges, and two ISIL-used culverts.
* Near Tal Afar, seven strikes struck four ISIL-used bridges, an ISIL culvert, and destroyed 12 ISIL bunkers.
* Near Fallujah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun position, an ISIL-used bridge, an ISIL bunker, and an ISIL bed down location.

* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL tunnel.

Additionally, there were four additional strikes from Dec. 25 that were not included on the Dec. 26 strike release.

Syria
* Near Manbij, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece position, five ISIL staging locations, two ISIL HBIEDs, three ISIL weapon caches, three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL VBIED, two ISIL resupply locations, and an ISIL vehicle, cratered five ISIL-used roads, damaged an ISIL tactical vehicle, and wounded ISIL fighters.

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.