PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 21, 2016
Feb. 21: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 21, 2016

Release # 20160221-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 20, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and fighter, 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, nine strikes struck eight separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, six ISIL buildings, and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Al Hawl, five strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and two ISIL structures.
* Near Ar Raqqah, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed an ISIL culvert bridge and two ISIL-used logistics routes.
* Near Manbij, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed four ISIL supply caches, an ISIL mortar system, 16 ISIL rocket rails, an ISIL weapons cache, and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Habbaniyah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Hit, two strikes struck an ISIL weapons production facility and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Mosul, 10 strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL logistical facility, an ISIL fuel storage location, an ISIL mortar booster factory, an ISIL explosive factory, and an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) factory and destroyed nine ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL command and control nodes, and suppressed an ISIL mortar position and an ISIL heavy machine gun position.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle and destroyed an ISIL assembly area.
* Near Ramadi, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL rocket 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.