MATTIS ISIS UPDATE: In what will be only his second meeting with the news media in the Pentagon briefing room in his four months on the job, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, along with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, will outline progress in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Pentagon officials say the 1 p.m. briefing will review what has been accomplished in recent months, but will not reveal the new strategy to defeat the terrorist group, which was ordered by President Trump shortly after he took office. “You’re going to see some incredible numbers with respect to the success of General Mattis and others with the ISIS situation,” Trump said yesterday. “The numbers are staggering, how successful they’ve been — the military has been.” A Pentagon official yesterday confirmed Mattis would be delivering an upbeat assessment. “The fact is we are doing pretty well,” the official said.

SYRIA ATTACK: In Syria yesterday, the U.S. bombed a convoy of military vehicles that it said was encroaching on a deconfliction zone along Syria’s southern border with Iraq. The convoy was said to comprise pro-regime Shiite militia who were heading in the direction of Tanf, where U.S. special operations forces have been training local fighters to battle ISIS. The U.S. military said the Russians, who support the Bashar Assad regime, were called on a hotline in an attempt to warn the convoy off. Eventually, U.S. warplanes fired warning shots. When the show of force was ignored, the convoy was attacked from the air. Several vehicles were destroyed, and an undetermined number of fighters on the ground were killed.