US, allies conduct 13 strikes in Syria, Iraq: US military

A coalition led by the United States conducted 12 strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq on Nov. 30, and hit the militant group with a single strike in Syria, according to a statement released on Dec. 1. 

The sole Syria strike was near al-Hawl, hitting a tactical unit, the statement from the Combined Joint Task Force said, according to Reuters.

Most of the Iraq strikes, five, were concentrated near Ramadi, where they hit a tactical unit and destroyed fighting positions, command areas, a staging area, a weapons cache and two buildings, according to the statement.  

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Dec. 1 that he was "prepared to expand" the role of special operations troops fighting ISIL jihadists in Syria. "American special operators bring a unique suite of capabilities that make them force multipliers," he said.

"Where we find further opportunity to leverage such capability, we are prepared to expand it," he added. 

The United States has already announced it is sending about 50 special operations troops into Syria, while AFP reported last week citing Kurdish sources that the U.S. troops had entered Syria from Turkey and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq.

Carter named Turkey as one of the countries that needed to do more in the fight against ISIL, including tightening control of its border with Syria. 

"We all must do more. Turkey must do more to control its often porous border," Carter said, noting that Saudi Arabia and Gulf states had been "preoccupied by the conflict in Yemen." 

Earlier, U.S. President Barack Obama said Turkey had made some progress in sealing its border with Syria but that ISIL was still exploiting gaps to...