PRESS RELEASE | March 4, 2016
March 4: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
March 4, 2016

Release # 20160304-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On March 3, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes using attack and fighter aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using 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 Al Hasakah, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL vehicle, and damaged an ISIL tunnel system.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes struck two ISIL petroleum pipelines.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL sniper position.
* Near Bayji, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 16 ISIL vehicles.
* Near Fallujah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL supply cache.
* Near Mosul, one strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed three ISIL heavy machine guns, two ISIL fighting positions, and two ISIL assembly areas.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL bed down location, and three 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, 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.