An official website of the United States Government 
Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov

.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Military Strikes Hit ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

You have accessed part of a historical collection on defense.gov. Some of the information contained within may be outdated and links may not function. Please contact the DOD Webmaster with any questions.

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 36 strikes consisting of 70 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 22 strikes consisting of 34 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS pump jack and an ISIS vehicle.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed three ISIS oil tankers and a command-and-control node.

-- Near Raqqa, 13 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed five vehicles, four fighting positions, two front-end loaders, an ISIS crane, an artillery system, a mortar system and an ISIS headquarters.

-- Near Tabqah, four strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a tactical vehicle, an ISIS headquarters and a vehicle bomb factory.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes consisting of 43 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed a tactical vehicle.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed a mortar system, a vehicle bomb factory, a rocket cache, a command-and-control node, a medium machine gun; damaged 19 ISIS supply routes, a front-end loader, a fighting position; and suppressed mortar team.

-- Near Rawah, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed three tactical vehicles and two staging areas.

-- Near Sinjar, four strikes destroyed four tactical vehicles, two ISIS staging areas and a vehicle.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

Additionally, four strikes were conducted in Syria on May 12 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- Near Raqqa, four strikes destroyed an ISIS vehicle and a fighting position and damaged two ISIS bridges and 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.

Related Stories