PRESS RELEASE | May 20, 2017
May 20: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

May 20, 2017
Release # 20170520-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On May 19, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 61 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of 56 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed three oil trucks.
* Near Raqqah, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a heavy machine gun.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of 56 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed 23 fighting positions, 19 medium machine guns, eight rocket-propelled grenade systems, five mortar systems, three heavy machine guns, two VBIEDs, two supply caches, and a vehicle; and damaged three fighting positions and three ISIS supply routes.

Additionally, two strikes were conducted in Iraq and Syria on May 18th that closed within the last 24 hours.
* Near Raqqah, Syria, two strikes destroyed an ISIS headquarters, an ISIS-held building and an ISIS recruiting station.

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.