PRESS RELEASE | July 4, 2017
July 4: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

July 4, 2017
Release # 20170704-02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On July 3, Coalition military forces conducted 25 strikes consisting of 85 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes consisting of 31 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an ISIS well-head.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed an ISIS well-head.
* Near Raqqah, 15 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven fighting positions, three mortar systems, two sections of wall, two vehicles, an anti-air artillery system, a heavy machine gun, and an explosives cache; damaged five ISIS supply routes; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 54 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed three VBIED storage facilities.
* Near Al Qaim, two strikes destroyed two oil storage tanks and an ISIS command and control node.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a staging area and a supply cache.
* Near Mosul, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed 21 fighting positions, six medium machine guns, three rocket-propelled grenade systems, and an artillery system; and damaged five fighting positions.
* Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed a mortar system.

Additionally, nine strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 2 that closed within the last 24 hours.

* On July 2, near Al Shadaddi, Syria, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four ISIS-held buildings and a command and control node.
* On July 2, near Raqqah, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed two VBIEDs, an ISIS communications tower, and a fighting position; and damaged 32 fighting positions.
* On July 2, near Kisik, Iraq, one strike destroyed a vehicle and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
* On July 2, near Mosul, Iraq, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven medium machine guns, five fighting positions, five IEDs, and a weapons cache; damaged two fighting positions; and suppressed a sniper team.

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group’s ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world.

This Coalition strike release contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing, or remotely piloted aircraft, rocket propelled artillery and ground-based tactical artillery.

A strike, as defined in the Coalition release, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative effect in that location. For example, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined.

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 information used to compile the daily strike releases is based on ‘Z’ or Greenwich Mean Time.