PRESS RELEASE | April 1, 2017
April 1: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

April 1, 2017
Release # 20170401-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Mar. 31, Coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 54 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of nine engagements against ISIS targets.

* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed three ISIS well heads.
* Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a weapons storage facility and a VBIED; and damaged a bridge.
* Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed two ISIS-held buildings and a bunker entrance; and damaged two bunker entrances and an ISIS-held building.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 45 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

* Mosul, five strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and an ISIS staging area; destroyed two fighting positions, a VBIED, a sniper weapon system, and a rocket-propelled grenade system; damaged three supply routes and a fighting position; and suppressed 12 ISIS mortar teams, four ISIS tactical units, two ISIS heavy machine gun teams, and an ISIS 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 some ground based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets. Ground-based artillery fired in counter-fire or in fire support to maneuver roles are not classified as a strike as defined by CJTF-OIR.

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.