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Iraqi Leaders Showing Confidence, Optimism in ISIL Fight, Dunford Says
July 31, 2016 — The biggest change in Iraq is the sense of confidence and optimism that leaders have “that absolutely didn’t exist last fall,” Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford said after a full day of meeting with Iraqi, U.S. and other coalition leaders in Baghdad and Irbil... MORE

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks to Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, in Baghdad, July 31, 2016. Dunford is visiting Iraq to assess the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. DoD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro

Votel Impressed by Iraqi Leaders’ Rising Confidence in Counter-ISIL Fight
July 28, 2016 — Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel said the Iraqi government and its military are confident in the approach they are taking and their ability to accomplish the mission. Votel spoke about his command with NBC’s Richard Engel at the Aspen Security Summit in Colorado today... MORE

U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel Commander of U.S. Central Command, meets with U.S. Marine Sgt. Maj. Clifford Wiggins, Command Sgt. Maj. 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and members of the Jordanian Armed Forces during Exercise Eager Lion 16 near Amman, Jordan on May 22, 2016. Eager Lion 16 is a US military bi-lateral exercise with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan designed to strengthen relationships and interoperability between partner nations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lauren Falk 5th MEB COMCAM/Released)

OIR Official: Captured Info Describes ISIL Operations in Manbij
July 27, 2016 — As the U.S.-led coalition and Syrian fighters continue the battle to retake the city of Manbij in Syria, captured information reveals the Islamic State of Iraq and The Levant’s thought processes and plans, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Army Col. Christopher Garver told Pentagon reporters today... MORE

Two F/A-18E Super Hornets undergo preliminary checks on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Gulf, July 26, 2016. The USS Eisenhower and its Carrier Strike Group are deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Theodore Quintana

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Colonel Garver via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq
July 27, 2016 — Department of Defense Press Briefing by Colonel Garver via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq... MORE

Dunford Lists Ways to Measure Counter-ISIL Success
July 25, 2016 — Territory, resources and foreign fighters are the measurements the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will use to measure progress against the “physical caliphate” that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has declared in Iraq and Syria... MORE

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hold a press conference at the Pentagon, July 25, 2016. During the press conference Carter and Dunford discussed the DoD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro

Counter-ISIL Meetings Came At Critical Time, Carter Says
July 25, 2016 — Important initiatives to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant that evolved from last week’s counter-ISIL coalition meetings came at a critical time in light of recent events, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters today... MORE

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, and Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speak with reporters at the Pentagon, July 25, 2016. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Tim D. Godbee

Coalition Continues Strikes to Defeat ISIL, OIR Spokesman Says
July 22, 2016 — Coalition forces continue strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, to support local forces fighting to reclaim areas including Mosul in Iraq, and Manbij in Syria, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve said today... MORE

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker from the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron refuels a USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II over Turkey in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, Jan. 6, 2016. OIR is the coalition intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Corey Hook/Released)

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Colonel Garver via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq
July 22, 2016 — Department of Defense Press Briefing by Colonel Garver via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq... MORE

Carter Praises Momentum in the Counter-ISIL Fight, Results on the Ground
July 21, 2016 — Defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is more than a one-country, one-military or one-ministry job, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in remarks this morning just before the first meeting of diplomatic, defense and civilian leaders whose nations are involved in the counter-ISIL coalition... MORE

Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry speak during a joint session of counter-ISIL foreign and defense ministers at the State Department in Washington, D.C., July 21, 2016. DoD photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley

Carter Convenes Counter-ISIL Coalition Meeting at Andrews
July 20, 2016 — Coalition partners are looking for ways to build on the momentum of the counter-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant campaign as they meet at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, today... MORE

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter meets French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian during a meeting of defense ministers of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL July 20, 2016, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (DoD photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley/Released)