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Press Release | May 4, 2017

May 4: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

CJTFOIR

May 4, 2017
Release # 20170504-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA — On May 3, Coalition military forces conducted 34 strikes consisting of 81 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 28 strikes consisting of 46 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Abu Kamal, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
*Near Dayr Az Zawr; six strikes destroyed five ISIS well heads, three tunnels and an ISIS oil storage tank.
*Near Palmyra, two strikes destroyed three tunnels.
*Near Raqqah, one strike destroyed a command and control node.
*Near Tabqah, 18 strikes engaged 11 ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, four vehicles, two tactical vehicles, a VBIED; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 35 engagements against ISIS targets.
*Near Kirkuk, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and damaged a fighting position.
*Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and a sniper team; destroyed four rocket-propelled grenade systems, four medium machine guns, two ISIS staging areas, an artillery system, a supply cache, a VBIED, a mortar system and a fighting position.

Additionally, three strikes were conducted in Syria on May 2nd that closed within the last 24 hours.
*Near Raqqah, Syria, May 2nd, one strike destroyed a fighting position.
*Near Al Shaddadi, Syria, May 2nd, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed four ISIS-held buildings, two mortar systems, two supply caches, a fighting position and an artillery system.
*Near Tabqah, Syria, May 2nd, one strike destroyed two fighting positions.

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.