PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 18, 2017
August 18: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

August 18, 2017
Release # 20170818-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Aug. 17, Coalition military forces conducted 27 strikes consisting of 40 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 24 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three ISIS oil stills, two pieces of oil equipment and a weapons cache.
*Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters and an ISIS media center.
*Near Raqqah, 18 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 29 fighting positions, three ISIS communication lines and two logistics nodes.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 16 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two vehicles, a supply cache, and a staging area.
*Near Tal Afar, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a front-end loader, an ISIS-held building, and a mortar system; and suppressed a mortar team.

Additionally, 33 strikes consisting of 47 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Aug. 15-16 that closed within the last 24 hours.
*On Aug. 15, near Raqqah, Syria, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions and a mortar system.
*On Aug. 16, near Abu Kamal, Syria, one strike destroyed an ISIS media center.
*On Aug. 16, near Al Shadaddi, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a command and control node, a fighting position and an ISIS communication line.
*On Aug. 16, near Raqqah, Syria, 23 strikes engaged 16 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 18 fighting positions, eight command and control nodes, two tunnels, two heavy machine guns, an ISIS UAS, an anti-aircraft artillery system and an ISIS line of communication.
*On Aug. 16, near Tal Afar, Iraq, three strikes destroyed 32 IEDs, 17 ISIS fighting positions, two tunnels, and an artillery system and damaged three bridges.

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.