PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 4, 2016
Feb. 4: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
February 04, 2016

Release # 20160204-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 3, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted two strikes using remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, 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 Ayn Isa, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Mar’a, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Iraq
* Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL vehicles, four ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED), and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Mosul, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 16 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL assembly area, ISIL engineering equipment, and an ISIL checkpoint.
* Near Qayyarah, six strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL assembly areas, two ISIL command and control nodes, six ISIL vehicles, seven ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL mortar tube, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, an ISIL weapons cache, and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed ISIL engineering equipment, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL tactical vehicle, eight ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL rocket propelled grenade systems, an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL recoilless rifle, an ISIL staging area, and 11 ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed an ISIL front end loader.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike suppressed 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.