Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 27, 2016 — U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack and ground-attack aircraft conducted two strikes in Syria:

-- Near Manbij, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Mar’a, a strike destroyed six ISIL fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 19 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Baghdadi, three strikes struck an ISIL staging facility.

-- Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, suppressed an ISIL mortar position and two ISIL tactical units, and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun position, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece and two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Qayyarah, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL security headquarters and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes suppressed an ISIL rocket firing position and an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units, destroyed three ISIL assembly areas and suppressed two ISIL mortar positions, an ISIL surface-to-air firing position, and an ISIL tactical unit.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is a strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do 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.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

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, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Coalition nations that 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.