Hagel, Kerry Say ‘Thousands’ of ISIS Fighters Have Been Killed
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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry both said on Thursday that the U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have taken out “thousands” of ISIS fighters.
“We are doing everything we can possibly do to help the Iraqis,” Hagel said during a press conference on Thursday, in response to complaints from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that the pace of U.S. and coalition weapons shipments and training has been slow. “We do know that thousands of [ISIS] fighters have been killed,” Hagel noted, “and we do know that some of [ISIS]’s leadership have been killed.”
“I…disagree with the prime minister’s comments,” Hagel said. “I would say even further, I don’t think they’re helpful. We have a coalition of over 60 countries that have come together to help Iraq. And I think the prime minister might want to be a little more mindful of that.”
Along similar lines, Kerry said that while the exact number was not clear, coalition strikes “are taking out [ISIS’s] fighters in the thousands thus far — single digits, but thousands.” Further, about 50 percent of the group’s top command has been eliminated, according to Kerry.
“We are destroying [ISIS]’s refining capacity, which destroys their revenue. We’re denying it revenue from oil trade. There are growing signs that our initiatives are, in fact, restricting [ISIS’s] operations,” Kerry said Thursday.
Kerry acknowledged that the U.S. and coalition “can do better with respect to the supplies and other things,” but that “there is an enormous amount that is happening, and that is all of it happening in a matter of months.”
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