U.S.-led coalition conducts 67 air strikes against Islamic State: task force

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies have conducted 61 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq in the past the three days, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement on Wednesday. The U.S.-led coalition also conducted six air strikes against the militant group in Syria, the statement said. Forty-five of the strikes in Iraq were "conducted in support of the Peshmerga (KSF) and Iraqi security forces operating in the region" and destroyed 50 targets, including militant fighters and various fighting positions and equipment, the statement said. Other strikes in Iraq hit near Mosul, Sinjar, Arbil, Rawa, Ramadi and Tal-Afar, and destroyed various targets such as fighting units, buildings, bunkers and various equipment, the task force said. In Syria, five strikes hit near the border town of Kobani, and one near Abu Kamal, the statement said. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Bill Trott)