PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 17, 2017
February 17: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

February 17, 2017
Release # 20170217-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 16, Coalition military forces conducted 41 strikes consisting of 62 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 34 strikes consisting of 35 engagements against ISIS targets.

* Near Abu Kamal, five strikes destroyed seven oil tanker trucks, three oil refinement stills and two oil wellheads.

* Near Al Bab, one strike destroyed a decoy tactical vehicle.

* Near Ar Raqqah, 17 strikes engaged two ISIS staging areas and an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed four tunnels, three fighting positions, three ISIS-held buildings, two weapons storage areas, two ISIS headquarters, a VBIED storage facility, a fuel station and a bridge.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, 11 strikes destroyed 20 oil tanker trucks, six oil wellheads, two artillery systems, an oil storage tank and a crane.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 27 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

* Near Kisik, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

* Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed four watercraft, three front-end loaders, two shipping containers, a mortar system, an artillery system, a VBIED facility, a vehicle and an ISIS-held building; damaged 11 supply routes and a tunnel; and suppressed a mortar team and an artillery team.

* Near Tal Afar, three strikes destroyed an IED facility, a weapons storage facility, and a fuel storage area.

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.