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

March 19, 2017
Release # 20170319-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Mar. 18, Coalition military forces conducted 23 strikes consisting of 56 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes consisting of 18 engagements against ISIS targets.

* Near Al Shadaddi, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three tactical vehicles.

* Near Ar Raqqah, 11 strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed five fighting positions, two ISIS headquarters; and damaged three bridges and two supply routes.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed four wellheads and a fighting position.

* Near Palmyra, two strikes destroyed three ISIS-held buildings and two well heads.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 38 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

* Near Haditha, one strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

* Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed 14 fighting positions, four vehicles, two rocket-propelled grenade systems, a medium machine gun, and an artillery system; damaged 14 supply routes; and suppressed five mortar teams and three ISIS tactical units.

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.