Col. Steve Warren Updates Iraq, Syria Operations

"We're teaching the Iraqis how to get through the types of obstacles that ISIL has emplaced around Ramadi, and we're giving them new tools to help," he said, adding that one example is the Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System.

The APOBS, as it is known, "is kind of an explosive rope attached to a little rocket that can be shot across a minefield and will explode and clear any of the mines or detonate the mines to create a lane that attacking forces can then rush through," he said.

Thirty-five APOBS have been distributed for training and have been issued to the Iraqi security forces, Warren said.

Syria Airstrikes Expected to Increase

Warren said while there has been a drop in airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria, he expects an increase soon as more sites are identified. The decrease has nothing to do with Russian involvement in air operations in Syria, he explained, but rather is related to the "ebb and flow of battle, the pace of battle and where our priority of efforts are."

As the United States and coalition partners gain intelligence, new targets are acquired, Warren said. "We have a willing, capable and consistent ground partner here in Iraq," he added.

Warren provided a graph showing 369 coalition airstrikes against targets in Syria in July, followed by 212 airstrikes in August and 120 in September.

"The intelligence in Syria continues to pile up, and we continue to sift through it and develop targets and nominate targets," he said. "We are continuing to make ties with forces on the ground in Syria -- that will spur target development as well."

(Source: US Dept of Defense)