PRESS RELEASE | June 15, 2016
June 15: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
June 15, 2016

Release # 20160615-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On June 14, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes using bomber, ground-attack, attack, 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 bomber, attack, fighter, 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 Manbij, six strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike destroyed an ISIL home-made explosives cache.
* Near Bashir, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL command and control node and two ISIL assembly areas.
* Near Fallujah, two strikes struck two ISIL tactical units and destroyed 11 ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL heavy machine guns, and six ISIL light machine guns and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Mosul, six strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and foreign fighter support facilities including an ISIL operations center, two ISIL headquarters, and an ISIL weapons factory and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Qayyarah, six strikes struck four separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL communications facility and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, four ISIL assembly areas, five ISIL mortar systems, an ISIL mortar position, nine ISIL boats, eight ISIL rocket rails, an ISIL rocket system, an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL ammunition cache, and an ISIL vehicle borne improvised device (VBIED) and suppressed a separate ISIL tactical unit and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Ramadi, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL boat.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike destroyed three ISIL rocket rails and three ISIL rocket systems and denied ISIL access to terrain.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

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.

Ground-based artillery fired in counter-fire or in fire support to maneuver roles are not classified as a strike as defined by CJTF-OIR.

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, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Coalition nations which have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.