Counter-ISIL Campaign Continues in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 26, 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, fighter, ground attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 strikes in Syria: -- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes struck an ISIL petroleum, oil, and lubricant separation vessel and an ISIL gas and oil separation plant and crude oil collection point. -- Near Hawl, eight strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL vehicles, an ISIL strikes staging area, an ISIL tactical vehicle and an ISIL mortar position. -- Near Raqqah, two strikes struck an ISIL staging area and an ISIL weapons storage area. -- Near Hasakah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL building.  Strikes in Iraq Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 16 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government: -- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle. -- Near Hit, a strike destroyed an ISIL oil tanker. -- Near Kirkuk, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle. -- Near Kisik, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL light machine gun and suppressed an ISIL mortar position. -- Near Mosul, a strike destroyed five ISIL fighting positions. -- Near Ramadi, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL artillery system, an ISIL staging area, and two ISIL supply cache and damaged an ISIL staging area. -- Near Sinjar, two strikes suppressed an ISIL mortar position and an ISIL rocket position. -- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position. -- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle. -- Near Fallujah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL bunkers. 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 one 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, 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 the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.