PRESS RELEASE | March 9, 2016
March 9: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
March 9, 2016

Release # 20160309-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On March 8, 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 11 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 Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two ISIL cranes.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes struck an ISIL modular refinery and an ISIL natural gas processing plant.
* Near Mar’a, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.

Iraq
* Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
* Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL assembly area.
* Near Ramadi, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, five ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed five ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL mortar fire positions.
* Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL mortar fire position and an ISIL assembly area and suppressed an ISIL fighting position.

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.