WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States and a coalition of over 60 countries that it leads has been launching airstrikes against the group’s positions in Syria and Iraq since 2014.
"A relentless air campaign – and support for forces in Iraq and Syria who are fighting ISIL [Daesh] on the ground – has allowed us to take approximately forty percent of the populated territory that ISIL once held in Iraq," Obama said in his weekly address.
Earlier, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Steve Warren said that the US established a firebase in northern Iraq to support Iraqi forces in liberating the city of Mosul from the Daesh.
