The Islamic State has made some notable gains throughout Anbar province in western Iraq, while the U.S. military and its allies have focused airstrikes on northern Iraq, Pentagon officials say.
The U.S. military is keeping watch on the new trend of violence, a senior Pentagon official said.
“We’ve seen less movement of the Islamic State in the north because of the pressure we’ve applied to them there, and so it appears that they’ve shifted their efforts to Anbar,” a senior Pentagon official said on condition of anonymity in order to discuss security matters.
Coalition forces operating inside Iraq bombed Islamic State militants in Anbar province, striking targets northeast of Fallujah and west of Ramadi on Monday, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
The U.S. military has conducted more than 260 airstrikes on Islamic State targets since the air war began Aug. 8, according to U.S. Central Command. That tally shows that Fallujah and Baghdad are among the top 10 airstrike targets in Iraq.
As of Monday, military officials had peppered the outskirts of Fallujah, with 15 airstrikes and conducted 26 airstrikes in the vicinity of Baghdad.
• Maggie Ybarra can be reached at mybarra@washingtontimes.com.
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