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U.S. Adjusting Tactics to Intensify Air War Against Islamic State

(Stars and Stripes) Tara Copp - The U.S. will adjust its tactics and risk more civilian casualties when launching airstrikes against high-value targets in Syria and Iraq as part of an effort to increase pressure on Islamic State militants. The tactical adjustments reflect an intensified effort to cut off Islamic State militants from their ability to fund attacks or move fighters across the battlefield, Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers on Tuesday. Fuel convoys were only recently added to the target list, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said. Retired Navy Cmdr. Chris Harmer, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said, "We are loathe to strike those [fuel convoys] because we are going to hit civilians. If the counter argument is we cannot hit civilian casualties, there is no way we can hit the Islamic State because they are intermingled."
2015-12-03 00:00:00
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