PRESS RELEASE | May 31, 2017
May 31: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

May 31, 2017
Release # 20170531-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On May 30, Coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes consisting of 49 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes consisting of 15 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Abu Kamal, five strikes destroyed 12 ISIS oil stills, two ISIS well heads, two ISIS oil separation tanks, and an ISIS oil truck.
*Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed an ISIS well head.
*Near Raqqah, four strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed a fighting position and a VBIED.
*Near Tabqah, three strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed a vehicle, an ISIS headquarters and a fighting position.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 34 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Bayji, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle, an ISIS staging area, and a front-end loader.
*Near Mosul, four strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed two mortar systems, two ISIS staging areas, a vehicle, a VBIED, and a fighting position; and damaged nine ISIS supply routes, two fighting positions, and a command and control node.
*Near Tal Afar, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings and an ISIS staging area.

Additionally, six strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on May 29 that closed within the last 24 hours.
*Near Raqqah, Syria, four strikes destroyed three ISIS-held buildings, two VBIEDs, and a weapons cache.
*Near Bayji, Iraq, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
*Near Mosul, Iraq, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four ISIS roadblocks, three VBIEDs, a tactical vehicle, a fighting position, and damaged 26 ISIS supply routes.

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.