Military, National

Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq, May 9, 2017


war on terror

SOUTHWEST ASIA–(ENEWSPF)–May 9, 2017 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 27 strikes consisting of 84 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 16 strikes consisting of 20 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIS oil rig.
  • Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed four ISIS oil tankers and an ISIS wellhead.
  • Near Raqqa, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed five weapon storage caches and an ISIS barge.
  • Near Tabqah, eight strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed five fighting positions.

Additionally, two strikes were conducted on May 7 that closed within the last 24 hours:

  • Near Tabqah, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 64 engagements against ISIS targets:

  • Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings.
  • Near Mosul, six strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and a sniper; destroyed 12 fighting positions, seven rocket-propelled grenade systems, four medium machine guns, three mortar systems, two vehicle bomb facilitation areas, two front-end loaders, a sniper position, a weapons cache, an improvised explosive device facility, a roadblock and a vehicle bomb; damaged 13 ISIS supply routes and three fighting positions; and suppressed a mortar position.
  • Near Rutbah, two strikes destroyed a bunker and a vehicle bomb facility.
  • Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed a weapons cache.
  • Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb factory.

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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