PRESS RELEASE | Jan. 5, 2016
Jan. 5: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
January 5, 2016

Release # 20160105-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Jan. 4, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted one strike using fighter aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using rocket artillery and fighter 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 destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq
* Near Ramadi, two strikes denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Haditha, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL mortar position, three ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL vehicles, two ISIL heavy machine guns, and wounded two ISIL fighters.
* Near Kisik, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, six ISIL bunkers, two ISIL-used culverts, an ISIL assembly area, an ISIL weapons cache, and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Mosul, six strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 10 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL mortar positions, five ISIL assembly areas, an ISIL heavy machine gun, and suppressed three separate ISIL mortar positions.
* Near Sinjar, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 11 ISIL assembly areas, three ISIL weapon caches, an ISIL command and control node, nine ISIL fighting positions, and two ISIL mortar positions.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 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.