PRESS RELEASE | March 23, 2017
March 23: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR
March 23, 2017
Release # 20170323-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Mar. 22, Coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes consisting of 76 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of nine engagements against ISIS targets.
• Near Ar Raqqah, eight strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed two tactical vehicles, a fighting position, and a heavy transport equipment piece; and damaged four supply routes.
In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 67 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.
• Near Al Qaim, one strike destroyed a tactical vehicle and a bulldozer.
• Near Kisik, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed five mortar systems.
• Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed 11 fighting positions, eight vehicles, four rocket-propelled grenade systems, two VBIEDs, a mortar system, and a tunnel, damaged three supply routes and a fighting position; and suppressed five ISIS tactical units and an ISIS sniper team.
• Near Rawah, one strike destroyed an IED facility.
• Near Tal Afar, one strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters.
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.