PRESS RELEASE | March 6, 2016
March 6: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
March 6, 2016

Release # 20160306-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On March 5, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes using fighter, attack, and remotely piloted 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, 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 two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL vehicle, and an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device, and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Manbij, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building, two ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL anti-air artillery piece.

Iraq
* Near Bayji, one strike suppressed an ISIL fighting position.
* Near Hit, two strikes struck an ISIL improvised weapons factory and an ISIL weapons storage facility.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike destroyed three ISIL bulldozers.
* Near Kisik, one strike destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL weapons production facility and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).
* Near Qayyarah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Ramadi, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL front end-loader.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun position and an ISIL mortar position.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike 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.