PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 5, 2015
Dec. 5: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 05, 2015

Release # 20151205-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 4, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes using fighter and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter, bomber ground-attack 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 Al Hawl, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), and four ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike produced in inconclusive results.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant well-head.
* Near Mar’a, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL building and wounded an ISIL fighter.

Iraq
* Near Habbaniyah, one strike suppressed an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ramadi, seven strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL bunker, two ISIL VBIEDs, 15 ISIL fighting positions, 12 ISIL buildings, three ISIL light machine guns, three ISIL RPGs, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, an ISIL assembly area, five ISIL staging areas, an ISIL weapons cache, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed an ISIL VBIED and an ISIL fighting 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.

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.