In recent weeks as a result of the US Air Force strikes in Iraq, several leaders of the extremist group Islamic State have been killed.
"I can confirm that since mid-November the airstrikes carried out by the international coalition have destroyed many of Islamic State's leaders of the supreme command, and some of the mid-level leaders," Interfax quotes a representative of the US Defense Department, John Kirby.
"We believe that the loss of these key figures negates the ability of Islamic State to conduct and supervise operations against Iraqi security forces," Kirby said. Successful strikes, in his opinion, demonstrate the determination of the coalition to pass on the task of neutralizing Islamic State to the Iraqi forces in the future.
This summer, militants of Islamic State captured significant territory in the north and west of Iraq, as well as some territory in Syria. International coalition forces have been inflicting strikes on their positions in order to stop the advance of the Islamists since August.
