PRESS RELEASE | May 3, 2017
May 3: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

May 3, 2017
Release # 20170503-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On May 2, Coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 53 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 14 engagements against ISIS targets.

* Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed two ISIS oil tanks.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed two ISIS oil separation tanks and an ISIS well head.
* Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed a fighting position.
* Near Tabqah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed 12 fighting positions, an ISIS supply route, and a tactical vehicle; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of 39 engagements against ISIS targets.
* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and a sniper team; destroyed two fighting positions, two artillery systems, a heavy machine gun, a medium machine gun, and an ISIS staging area; and suppressed nine mortar teams.

Additionally, three strikes were conducted in Iraq on May 1st that closed within the last 24 hours.
* Near Mosul, May 1st, three strikes destroyed three VBIEDs and three ISIS fuel tankers, and suppressed three mortar teams.

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.