PRESS RELEASE | May 8, 2017
May 8: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

May 8, 2017
Release # 20170508-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On May 7, Coalition military forces conducted 33 strikes consisting of 84 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 25 strikes consisting of 31 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an ISIS well head and an ISIS oil storage tank.
*Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed four ISIS well heads, a unmanned aerial system storage building and a vehicle.
*Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed a tunnel entrance.
*Near Raqqah, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed 13 ISIS barges and two excavators.
*Near Tabqah, 15 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed eight fighting positions and a vehicle.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 53 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Al Qaim, one strike destroyed an ISIS staging area.
*Near Mosul, six strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and a sniper team; destroyed six fighting positions, four rocket-propelled grenade systems, four VBIEDs, three medium machine guns, two tactical vehicles, two supply caches, two heavy machine guns, two anti-air artillery systems, two vehicles, a mortar system, a recoilless rifle, a ISIS staging area; damaged 10 ISIS supply routes, seven fighting positions; and suppressed two mortar teams.
*Near Rutbah, one strike destroyed inoperable equipment.

Additionally, three strikes were conducted in Syria on May 6th that closed within the last 24 hours.
*Near Tabqah, Syria, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a supply cache.

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.