U.S. aircraft carry out daily air strikes against ISIS targets, most of them in the Iraqi part of the militants’ self-proclaimed ‘caliphate’

U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter flew to Baghdad Wednesday for talks on progress in the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, an official said.

Carter, who on Tuesday visited a Turkish base that has become a key hub for air raids against the militants, arrived in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday morning.

He was due to leave Iraq the same day after meeting Iraqi leaders and partners in the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition, an official said on condition of anonymity.

U.S. aircraft carry out daily air strikes against ISIS targets, most of them in the Iraqi part of the militants’ self-proclaimed “caliphate”, which also covers regions in Syria.

Out of the 11 strikes conducted by the coalition on Tuesday in Iraq, five were on targets in the area of Ramadi, which Iraqi forces are trying to wrest back from ISIS, according to a US military statement.

President Barack Obama said on Monday the U.S. and its allies were hitting ISIS “harder than ever” and warned the extremists’ leaders: “You are next.”

U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter

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