PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 21, 2017
August 21: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR
August 21, 2017
Release # 20170821-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Aug. 20, Coalition military forces conducted 35 strikes consisting of 114 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes consisting of 30 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed nine ISIS oil stills and three oil barrels.
*Near Al Shadaddi, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two command and control nodes and a fighting position.
*Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed eight ISIS well-heads.
*Near Raqqah, 21 strikes engaged 14 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 22 fighting positions, two UAS staging areas, two heavy machine guns, a vehicle and an explosives cache.
In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 84 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Al Asad, one strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
*Near Al Qaim, one strike destroyed an ISIS supply cache.
*Near Qayyarah, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS headquarters.
*Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a staging area and an ISIS barge.
*Near Tal Afar, four strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed five rocket-propelled grenade systems, four tunnel entrances, four fighting positions, four VBIEDs, two tactical vehicles, two weapons caches, two supply caches, a command and control node, a medium machine gun, and an anti-tank weapon; damaged five supply routes; and suppressed 32 mortar systems.
Additionally, 46 strikes consisting of 59 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Aug. 18-19 that closed within the last 24 hours.
*On Aug. 18, near Raqqah, Syria, four strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions.
*On Aug. 19, near Al Shadaddi, Syria, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
*On Aug. 19, near Raqqah, Syria, 36 strikes engaged 22 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 29 fighting positions and seven command and control nodes.
*On Aug. 19, near Al Huwayjah, one strike destroyed a command and control node.
*On Aug. 19, near Tal Afar, four strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed 14 fighting positions, seven roadblocks, two tunnel entrances, two supply caches, a VBIED facility, an IED facility, a staging area, and an IED.
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.