PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 20, 2016
Feb. 20: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 20, 2016
Release # 20160220-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 19, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes using attack, ground-attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using fighter, attack, 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 Hasakah, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike destroyed an ISIL armored front end loader.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike struck an ISIL main gas and oil separation plant.
* Near Manbij, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece and three ISIL fighting positions.
Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache and three ISIL rocket systems.
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Fallujah, one strike destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece.
* Near Habbaniyah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Hit, one strike destroyed an ISIL tunnel entrance.
* Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL petroleum, oil, and lubricants site, and two ISIL command and control nodes.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed four ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) facility, five ISIL staging areas, and an ISIL bed down location.
* Near Tal Afar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL tunnel system.
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.