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

Release # 20160311-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On March 10, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted one strike using attack aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets.

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

Syria
* Near Mar’a, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq
* Near Kisik, one strike destroyed six ISIL fighting positions and six ISIL staging areas.
* Near Makhmur, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) and an ISIL vehicle.
* Near Mosul, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL assembly area.
* Near Ramadi, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, two ISIL supply caches, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, two ISIL staging areas, and two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Sinjar, three strikes destroyed an ISIL supply cache and two ISIL mortar firing positions and damaged four ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIL rocket system.
* Near Hit, two strikes struck an ISIL facility and an ISIL bed down location.

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, 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.