PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 4, 2015
Dec. 4: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 04, 2015

Release # 20151204-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 3, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes using attack, fighter, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted six strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using bomber, fighter, and attack 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, six strikes struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant.
• Near Abu Kamal, two strikes struck an ISIL oil field well head.
• Near Ayn Isa, four strikes struck four ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle, and wounded an ISIL fighter.
• Near Mar’a, eight strikes struck seven separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle, four ISIL staging areas, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle borne explosive device (VBIED), an ISIL compound, and wounded four ISIL fighters.

Iraq

• Near Kisik, one strike suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun position.
• Near Ramadi, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 14 ISIL heavy machine guns, five ISIL RPGs, an ISIL recoilless rifle, two ISIL anti-air artillery pieces, three ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL sniper positions, three ISIL staging areas, three ISIL bed down locations, two ISIL compounds, an ISIL VBIED, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
• Near Mosul, one strike damaged an ISIL VBIED storage location.

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.