PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 6, 2015
Dec. 6: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
December 06, 2015

Release # 20151206-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Dec. 5, 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. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter, bomber and attack aircraft against ISIL targets.

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

Syria
* Near Mar’a, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL building.
* Near Ayn Isa, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL excavator, an ISIL tactical vehicle, and an ISIL building.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed five ISIL oil well-heads.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and wounded an ISIL fighter.

Iraq
* Near Al Huwayjah, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL tunnel.
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL rocket rail.
* Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL mortar tube, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL command and control node, an ISIL excavator, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and suppressed a separate ISIL heavy machine gun position.
* Near Ramadi, six strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL sniper position, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) facility, four ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, three ISIL buildings, four ISIL command and control nodes, three ISIL staging areas, two ISIL weapons caches, damaged an ISIL fighting position, and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL heavy machine guns.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and an ISIL vehicle.

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.