PRESS RELEASE | May 19, 2017
May 19: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR
May 19, 2017
Release # 20170519-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On May 18, Coalition military forces conducted 27 strikes consisting of 65 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 19 strikes consisting of 27 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Abu Kamal, five strikes destroyed 10 ISIS oil storage tanks, three ISIS well heads and an ISIS oil tanker.
* Near At Tanf, two strikes destroyed two front-end loaders, a piece of construction equipment, a tactical vehicle and a tank.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike engaged and ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
* Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed four fighting positions, two tunnels, two VBIED facilities, a mortar system, a vehicle, a supply cache, an ISIS headquarters, a weapons cache, and a tactical vehicle; and damaged three fighting positions.
* Near Tabqah, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed a vehicle, a fighting position and a tunnel entrance.
In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 38 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Al Huwayjah, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS warehouse.
* Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and a sniper; destroyed 13 fighting positions, three rocket systems, two heavy machine guns, two medium machine guns, a VBIED, and a mortar system; and damaged seven fighting positions and three ISIS supply routes.
* Near Sinjar, one strike destroyed four ISIS-held buildings.
* Near Tal Afar, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle.
Additionally, five strikes were conducted in Iraq and Syria on May 16th and 17th that closed within the last 24 hours.
* Near Raqqah, Syria, on May 16th, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed six ISIS-held buildings, four ISIS tunnels, two fighting positons, and one tactical vehicle.
* Near Sinjar, Iraq, on May 17th, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three vehicles.
* Near Raqqah, Syria, on May 17th, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed two fighting positions and a supply cache; and damaged two ISIS supply routes and a fighting position.
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 ground-based tactical artillery.
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.