PRESS RELEASE | March 20, 2017
March 20: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

March 20, 2017
Release # 20170320-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Mar. 19, Coalition military forces conducted 25 strikes consisting of 92 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes consisting of 27 engagements against ISIS targets.

* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed two well heads, two tanker trucks, and a pump jack.

* Near Ar Raqqah, 18 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed 10 fighting positions, six barges, three ISIS headquarters, a tactical vehicle, an IED factory, and a weapons factory; and damaged a supply route.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 65 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

* Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and four ISIS sniper teams; destroyed 17 fighting positions, six heavy machine guns, four vehicles, three rocket-propelled grenade systems, a mortar system, a VBIED factory, an artillery system, and a roadblock; damaged nine supply routes; and suppressed six ISIS mortar teams, five ISIS tactical units, and an ISIS anti-air artillery team.

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.