February 22: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

February 22, 2017
Release # 20170222-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Feb. 21, Coalition military forces conducted 32 strikes consisting of 93 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 23 strikes consisting of 36 engagements against ISIS targets.

* Near Ar Raqqah, 10 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed three fighting positions and three tactical vehicles; and damaged two bridges.

* Near Dayr Az Zawr, nine strikes destroyed seven modular oil refineries, two workover oil rigs and a pump jack.

* Near Palmyra, four strikes destroyed a tactical vehicle, a heavy machine gun, and a pump jack; and damaged a tank.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 57 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

*Near Baghdad, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

* Near Bayji, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed 11 vehicles, a front-end loader and a weapons cache; and damaged a bridge.

* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed three mortar systems, three vehicles, two IEDs, two command and control nodes, a supply cache, an artillery system, a front-end loader, an excavator, a tactical vehicle and a medium machine gun; damaged 13 supply routes and a tunnel; and suppressed 13 mortar teams and an artillery team.

* Near Rawah, one strike engaged two ISIS staging areas and an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed an anti-air artillery system and a storage facility.

* Near Tal Afar, two strikes destroyed an excavator and a VBIED.

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.