PRESS RELEASE | May 22, 2017
May 22: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

May 22, 2017
Release # 20170522-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On May 21, Coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 72 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes consisting of 29 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three ISIS barges, two ISIS well heads, a vehicle, an ISIS oil storage tank, and an ISIS oil processing equipment item.
* Near Raqqah, 13 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 11 fighting positions, nine vehicles, two supply caches, a mortar system, an ISIS headquarters; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
* Near Tabqah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positions.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of 43 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Kirkuk, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positions.
Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and a sniper; destroyed 18 fighting positions, nine medium machine guns, six VBIEDs, four rocket systems, three rocket-propelled grenade systems, three heavy machine guns, a command and control node, a vehicle, a supply cache, a mortar system, and a tunnel; damaged 15 ISIS supply roads, a fighting position; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

Additionally, two strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on May 20 that closed within the last 24 hours.
* Near Raqqah, Syria, one strikes destroyed an ISIS headquarters and an ISIS staging area.
* Near Mosul, Iraq, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four vehicles, two heavy machine guns, two fighting positions, and two VBIEDs.
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.