Military Airstrikes Hit ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, May 24, 2017 – U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 12 strikes consisting of 32 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of five engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and damaged a vehicle.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed eight ISIS oil stills and destroyed two ISIS oil truck.

-- Near Raqqa, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed three fighting positions and a mortar system.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 27 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed two vehicle bombs, two medium machine guns, two vehicles, a storage compound, a fighting position, a rocket- propelled grenade system, an ISIS staging area; damaged 21 ISIS supply routes and two vehicles; and suppressed a mortar team.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an anti-air artillery system.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIS staging area.

Additionally, three strikes were conducted in Syria May 22 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- Near Raqqa, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed a fighting position, a vehicle bomb and a front-end loader.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

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, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, 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, officials said.

The task force 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.