PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 23, 2017
August 23: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

August 23, 2017
Release # 20170823-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Aug. 22, Coalition military forces conducted 24 strikes consisting of 81 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes consisting of 36 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed two ISIS oil stills, two oil tanks and a separator.
*Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed five ISIS oil stills.
*Near Raqqah, 14 strikes engaged 13 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 26 fighting positions, an ISIS headquarters, a command and control node, and ISIS engineering equipment.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 45 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Al Qaim, three strikes destroyed two ISIS headquarters and two weapons caches.
*Near Tal Afar, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed eight fighting positions, seven mortar systems, four ISIS-held buildings, two tactical vehicles, two medium machine guns, a vehicle, an anti-air artillery system, a weapons cache, a command and control node, an artillery system, and a supply cache; and damaged four supply routes.

Additionally, 30 strikes consisting of 66 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Aug. 19 and Aug. 21 that closed within the last 24 hours.
*On Aug. 19, near Raqqah, Syria, one strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
*On Aug. 21, near Raqqah, Syria, 24 strikes engaged 16 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 33 fighting positions, a logistics node, a mortar system, and an anti-air artillery system.
*On Aug. 21, near Tal Afar, Iraq, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed 49 vehicles, 21 oil trucks, three front-end loaders, two command and control nodes, and a tank; damaged a supply route; and suppressed five mortar teams.

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.