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

Release # 20160305-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On March 4, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted two strikes using rocket artillery and attack aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, ground-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 Al Hawl, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed six ISIL buildings and two ISIL vehicles.
* Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

Iraq
* Near Al Baghdadi, one strike destroyed an ISIL rocket rail and an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Albu Hayat, one strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).
* Near Fallujah, one strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL bed down location.
* Near Kisik, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, two ISIL mortar positions, four ISIL VBIEDs, and seven ISIL fighting positions.
* Near Mosul, one strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun position.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike destroyed an ISIL rocket position.
* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL staging area, an ISIL tunnel, and an ISIL front end loader.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun position.
* Near Tal Afar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL assembly area.

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.