Military Strikes Hit ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

Military Strikes Hit ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq
May 11, 2017 in Security
U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria on Tuesday, conducting 21 strikes consisting of 75 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported yesterday.

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 11 strikes consisting of 14 engagements against ISIS targets:

Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIS sniper and destroyed a front-end loader.
Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed a front-end loader an and ISIS wellhead.
Near Tabqah, seven strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, three vehicles; damaged a fighting position; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.
Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 61 engagements against ISIS targets:

Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a heavy machine gun, a fighting position and damaged an ISIS supply route.
Near Rutbah, a strike destroyed a bunker.
Near Mosul, six strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units and a sniper; destroyed seven mortar systems, five fighting positions, three vehicle bombs, two supply caches, two vehicles, and a command-and-control node; damaged 18 ISIS supply routes, a fighting position, a tunnel; and suppressed four mortar teams and four ISIS tactical units.
Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed three vehicle bombs, an ISIS staging area and a weapons cache.
Additionally, four strikes were conducted in Syria on May 8 that closed within the last 24 hours:

Near Tabqah, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a fighting position and a mortar system; and damaged an ISIS supply route.
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: US Dept of Defense)