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

Dec. 18, 2017
Release # 20171218-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – Between Dec. 15 and Dec. 17, Coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes consisting of 26 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

On Dec. 17 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets.
• Near Abu Kamal, eight strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units.

On Dec. 17 in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted one strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets.
• Near Rutbah, one strike destroyed an ISIS-held building.

On Dec. 16 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets.
• Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS vehicles and an ISIS-held building.

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on Dec. 16, 2017.

On Dec. 15 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets.
• Near Abu Kamal, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS vehicles, two logistics centers, an ISIS headquarters, a fighting position and an explosive hazard.

On Dec. 15 in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets.
• Near Rutbah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS fuel truck and an ISIS storage container.

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to ensure the enduring defeat of 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.