PRESS RELEASE | May 21, 2017
May 21: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

May 21, 2017
Release # 20170521-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On May 20, Coalition military forces conducted 23 strikes consisting of 74 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 16 strikes consisting of 29 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Abu Kamal, seven strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed six ISIS oil tanker trucks, five ISIS well heads, three ISIS oil tanks, an ISIS oil storage tank and a fighting position.
* Near al Hawl, one strike destroyed seven fighting positions and a mortar site.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed three ISIS oil tanker trucks and two ISIS well heads.
* Near Raqqah, five strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, two vehicles, an ISIS staging area and a construction vehicle.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 45 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed 12 fighting positions, eight medium machine guns, four rocket-propelled grenade systems, an ISIS fuel truck, a vehicle, an ISIS trailer, an ISIS staging area, and an artillery system; and damaged 18 ISIS supply routes and a fighting position.
* Near Sinjar, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two vehicles.

Additionally, two strikes were conducted in Iraq and Syria on May 19th that closed within the last 24 hours.
* Near Raqqah, Syria, two strikes destroyed three fighting positions and a vehicle and damaged an ISIS supply route.

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.