PRESS RELEASE | March 24, 2017
March 24: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

March 24, 2017
Release # 20170324-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Mar. 23, Coalition military forces conducted 35 strikes consisting of 89 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 44 engagements against ISIS targets.

• Near Ar Raqqah, 22 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven fighting positions, five vehicles, three IEDS, two tunnels, and a VBIED; damaged five supply routes and a bridge; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes consisting of 45 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

• Near Kisik, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a command and control node.
• Near Mosul, four strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and an ISIS sniper team; destroyed 11 fighting positions, two rocket-propelled grenade systems, and an artillery system; damaged nine supply routes and a fighting position; and suppressed two ISIS tactical units and an ISIS mortar team.
• Near Rawah, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings, a weapons storage facility, and an ISIS headquarters.
• Near Sinjar, two strikes engaged a vehicle staging area and destroyed a VBIED facility.
• Near Tal Afar, one strike engaged a VBIED staging 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.