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40 Islamic State fighters killed in U.S. air strike

A Defense Department official said an American air strike killed 40 fighters from the group calling itself the Islamic State.

By Fred Lambert
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer takes off. (UPI Photo/Matthew Flynn/Pool)
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer takes off. (UPI Photo/Matthew Flynn/Pool) | License Photo

MOSUL, Iraq, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A U.S. air strike on a training camp killed 40 fighters of the self-proclaimed Islamic State Thursday, a day before France reported its first air attacks in the campaign against the extremist militant group.

A senior official with the U.S. Department of Defense told USA Today on condition of anonymity that a B-1 Lancer, a heavy bomber, was involved in air strikes on a large ground force of IS fighters, an armed vehicle and two buildings they occupied near Mosul.

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Of the 176 airstrikes launched against IS targets by the United States since August, this is the second time a heavy bomber like the B-1 was utilized.

"We won't decimate ISIS with air strikes that kill 40," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst with the Brookings Institution. "But if we can convince them not to go on the offensive, we'll buy time for the rest of the strategy to unfold."

While President Barack Obama has asserted military efforts against IS militants will be conducted without the use of U.S. ground troops, a senior Air Force official -- who was also not authorized to speak publicly about the effort -- told USA Today that such air attacks have to be limited to the outskirts of Mosul unless U.S. special forces are put on the ground to direct the strikes accurately.

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He also noted that air strikes around the city could pin IS fighters within, cordoning them for an assault by the Iraqi Army.

The attack came a day before France began its own air campaign against IS targets in northeastern Iraq.

French President Francois Hollande said in a statement Friday that, at the request of the government in Baghdad, two Rafale assault bombers hit an IS logistics center in the Zumar area.

"The objective was hit and completely destroyed," Hollande said. "Other operations will follow in the coming days."

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