PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 11, 2016
Jan. 11: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
January 11, 2016

Release # 20160111-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 10, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes using fighter, attack, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and ground-attack fighter, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Coalition military forces conducted one strike in Iraq in support of Coalition operations using fighter aircraft.

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

Syria
* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an ISIL pipeline fitter truck.
* Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL cranes.
* Near Ayn Isa, two strikes destroyed an ISIL bed down location, an ISIL command and control node, an ISIL tunnel, and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed three ISIL-used cranes and damaged a separate ISIL-used crane.
* Near Manbij, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Mar’a, four strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and wounded an ISIL fighter.

Iraq
* Near Haditha, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Hit, one strike struck inoperable Coalition equipment denying ISIL access in support of Coalition operations.
* Near Kisik, one strike destroyed an ISIL warehouse.
* Near Mosul, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL improvised explosive device (IED) facility and destroyed 11 ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-used culvert.
* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL mortar positions, two ISIL heavy machine guns, 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.