Aircraft participating in U.S.-backed attacks on the Islamic State decimated blew up 250 ISIS fighters in strikes near Fallujah on Wednesday. As Reuters reports, American officials believe they were able to take out as many as 250 jihadists and destroy 40 vehicles.
These were major actions, according to the news service:
If the figures are confirmed, the strikes would be among the most deadly ever against the jihadist group. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the operation and noted preliminary estimates can change.
The strikes, which the officials said took place south of the city, where civilians have also been displaced, are just the latest battlefield setback suffered by Islamic State in its self-proclaimed “caliphate” of Iraq and Syria.
In spite of losing ground in Iraq, ISIS isn’t any less dangerous than before, as attacks such as Paris and most recently the deadly bombings at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport may prove.
And as CIA chief John Brennan reportedly said at a recent DC forum, “ISIS’ ability to continue to propagate its narrative, as well as to incite and carry out these attacks — I think we still have a ways to go before we’re able to say that we have made some significant progress against them.”
If massive bomb blasts eliminating over 200 members of the terrorist state isn’t the “significant progress” Brenna spoke of, it seems like ISIS has much worse coming its way.
Not that many will have a problem with that.
h/t Reuters