PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 1, 2016
Feb. 1: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 01, 2016

Release # 20160201-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 31, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes using attack and fighter aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, 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, one strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL tunnel systems.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed three ISIL front end loaders.
* Near Manbij, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar system, two ISIL fighting positions, and two ISIL buildings.

Iraq
* Near Kirkuk, one strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.
* Near Mosul, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL excavator.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Ramadi, six strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL staging areas, two ISIL rocket rails, two ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), and an ISIL VBIED facility.
* Near Sinjar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and two ISIL fighting positions.

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.