Recent gains in the campaign against the Islamic State may mark a turning point for the administration’s strategy to defeat the terrorist group, which has taken a beating from his critics as being ineffective and too hands off, according to reports.
Kurdish forces aided by U.S. special operations troops launched an offensive Thursday to retake Mount Sinjar and cut off a key supply line the terrorist organization uses to funnel supplies and fighters from Raqqah in Syria to Mosul in Iraq.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters on Thursday that the coalition had conducted 36 airstrikes in support of the operation over the last 24 hours.
Agence-France Press reported early on Friday that a Kurdish military leader announced that the city had been “liberated.”
Officials argued that this success indicated that the president’s strategy was beginning to produce results, Reuters reported.
Other analysts, however, said losing Mount Sinjar would not be a major blow to the Islamic State, which still holds large areas of territory throughout Iraq and Syria. The terrorist group has adapted to setbacks on the battlefield, launching attacks in other places when they are under pressure in one spot, the Reuters article said.
The Pentagon is also assessing an airstrike on Thursday in Syria that targeted Mohamed Emwazi, also known as “Jihadi John,” who appeared in the videos showing the murders of American journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley. Leaders have not officially determined whether Emwazi was killed.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Friday that the strike is “an indication of our growing intelligence capabilities in Syria, and the fact that we will hunt down those responsible for the murder of our fellow citizens with unshakable determination.”
