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Press Release | March 31, 2017

March 31: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

CJTFOIR

March 31, 2017
Release # 20170331-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
  
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On Mar. 30, Coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes consisting of 66 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets.

• Near Abu Kamal, four strikes destroyed eight ISIS well heads and a pump jack.
• Near Ar Raqqah, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a front-end loader.
• Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed nine ISIS well heads.
• Near Tabqah, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed a vehicle and a UAV.
 
In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 8 strikes consisting of 56 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.

• Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed 18 vehicles, three VBIED factories, two tunnels, an artillery system, a VBIED, a mortar system, a tactical vehicle, a fighting position, and a front-end loader; damaged 12 supply routes; and suppressed six ISIS mortar teams and an ISIS tactical unit.
• Near Rawah, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed an ISIS-held building and a tactical vehicle.

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.