PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 19, 2017
February 19: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

February 19, 2017
Release # 20170219-02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 18, Coalition military forces conducted 40 strikes consisting of 71 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIS targets.

* Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two vehicles and a communications tower.

* Near Al Bab, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed a fighting position and a vehicle.

* Near Ar Raqqah, 10 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed four oil storage tanks, three fighting positions, two ISIS-held buildings, two vehicles, a weapons cache, an oil refinement still and a communications station.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, 10 strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed eight oil wellheads, a weapons cache, a fighting position and an oil pump jack.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes consisting of 43 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

* Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three tents, a vehicle, and a tactical vehicle.

* Near Kirkuk, one strike destroyed three front-end loaders and a bulldozer.

* Near Kisik, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a weapons cache and an ISIS-held building.

* Near Mosul, nine strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and an ISIS staging area; destroyed four ISIS headquarters, four watercraft, three engineering equipment pieces, three command and control nodes, two artillery systems, a vehicle, an excavator, a fighting position, an ISIS-held building, and an ISIS support facility; damaged nine supply routes and three tunnels; and suppressed 11 mortar teams, and an artillery team.

* Near Taji, one strike destroyed an ISIS-held building

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.