PRESS RELEASE | April 20, 2017
April 20: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

April 20, 2017
Release # 20170420-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On April 19, Coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes consisting of 66 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes consisting of 19 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Al Qaim, one strike destroyed a VBIED factory.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, six strikes destroyed six ISIS well heads and two ISIS oil equipment items.
* Near Raqqah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed a front-end loader and a fighting position.
* Near Tabqah, seven strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed five ISIS oil tankers, two command and control nodes, two fighting positions, one tunnel, one ISIS-held building, and one VBIED facility; and damaged a fighting position.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 47 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Al Qaim, one strike destroyed a heavy machine gun and an ISIS vehicle.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed five VBIEDs, five front-end loaders, four mortar systems, a medium machine gun and a VBIED factory.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIS tactical vehicle.

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.