Military, National

Counter-ISIS Strikes Hit Terrorists in Syria, Iraq, May 23, 2017


SOUTHWEST ASIA–(ENEWSPF)–May 23, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 27 strikes consisting of 99 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 18 strikes consisting of 37 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed four ISIS oil trucks, three ISIS pump jacks, and an ISIS wellhead.
  • Near Raqqa, 13 strikes engaged 11 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 15 fighting positions, two vehicles and a weapons cache; and damaged an ISIS supply route.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 62 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIS staging area.
  • Near Qaim, a strike destroyed an air artillery system.
  • Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed two weapons caches, a fighting position, an ISIS staging area and a house-borne bomb.
  • Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and a sniper; destroyed 20 fighting positions, seven vehicle bombs, six medium machine guns, five rocket-propelled grenade systems, three rocket systems, a weapons cache, a command-and-control node, a vehicle, a mortar system, a house-borne bomb; damaged 21 ISIS supply routes, a tunnel, a fighting position; and suppressed four ISIS tactical units.
  • Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a weapons storage site.

Additionally, a strike was conducted in Syria May 21 that closed within the last 24 hours:

  • Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed seven ISIS oil barrels, two ISIS wellheads and one ISIS fuel truck.

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.

Source: http://defense.gov


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