Reuters, paris :The conditions necessary to eradicate Islamic State in Syria and Iraq are “in the process of coming together”, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Info radio on Thursday.”I note that Daesh (Islamic State) is retreating and that Daesh is retreating significantly,” Le Drian said.”Since Daesh’s occupation of Syria and Iraq, since the attempt to attack Baghdad in June 2014, I think Daesh has lost between 30 and 40 percent of its territory.”An international coalition is providing air support to Kurdish and Iraqi forces, which intend to liberate Mosul, in Iraq, and Raqqa, in Syria, by the end of the year, the minister added.”We will need … a lot of determination, but I think the conditions are in the process of coming together for eradicating Daesh,” he said. “For the first time, I have this slightly optimistic message.”Meanwhile, the US Air Force for the first time deployed a B-52 bomber against the Islamic State, the Pentagon said Wednesday as it ramps up a 20-month campaign to smash the jihadists.The bombing mission, in which a hulking B-52 destroyed a weapons storage facility south of Mosul, comes the same week that Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited Baghdad and announced extra US troops, cash and equipment for the anti-IS campaign in Iraq. In other signs of an increasing tempo, US commandos working with Kurdish troops conducted a raid targeting a senior IS group figure and the Pentagon said it has changed how air strikes risking civilian deaths are approved.Under the new rules, authority now comes from the commanding three-star US general in Baghdad, instead of going through a four-star at the US Central Command’s headquarters in Florida.Baghdad-based military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren insisted the changes do not lessen oversight standards in determining when civilian losses are an acceptable risk. “This does not translate to more civilian casualties, this translates to a more rapid execution of strikes,” Warren said.The Pentagon has acknowledged 26 civilian deaths due to US-led coalition strikes since the campaign began in August 2014 in Iraq, and credits the use of guided missiles in keeping the number relatively low — though independent observers say the figure is far higher.
