PRESS RELEASE | March 27, 2017
March 27: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

March 27, 2017
Release # 20170327-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Mar. 26, Coalition military forces conducted 34 strikes consisting of 80 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes consisting of 20 engagements against ISIS targets.

* Near Abu Kamal, one strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
* Near Ar Raqqah, nine strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a well head, a heavy transport equipment piece, a vehicle, an oil storage tank, an ISIS headquarters, a VBIED, and a fighting position; and damaged two supply routes.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed a well head.
* Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed a tank.
* Near Tabqah, seven strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed two vehicles, a fighting position, and a front-end loader; and damaged two supply routes.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes consisting of 60 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

* Near Al Qaim, one strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
* Near Bayji, one strike destroyed a tactical vehicle.
* Near Mosul, seven strikes, engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed six tunnels, three fighting positions, three vehicles, two mortar systems, a weapons storage facility, a front-end loader, a supply cache, and a heavy machine gun; damaged 17 supply routes; and suppressed six ISIS mortar teams and three ISIS tactical units.
* Near Qayyarah, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a watercraft.
* Near Rawah, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; and destroyed a UAV, a UAV facility, and a vehicle.
* Near Sinjar, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed a tactical vehicle and a vehicle.
* Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed a weapons cache, an explosives cache, a storage facility, and an improvised weapons facility.

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.