President Obama says the self-proclaimed Islamic State is rapidly losing ground in Iraq and Syria, in televised remarks from the Pentagon on Monday.
ISIS "has lost about 40 percent of the populated areas it once controlled in Iraq," Obama said, following a meeting with the National Security Council. Likewise, he said, the militant organization "has lost thousands of square miles of territory it once controlled in Syria and it will lose more."
"We are hitting ISIL harder than ever. Coalition aircraft, our fighters, bombers and drones, have been increasing the pace of airstrikes."
With nearly 9,000 strikes to date, the president added that the coalition conducted more airstrikes in November than any other month of the campaign.
These remarks, focusing on operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, come after recent major militant attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif.
"As we squeeze its heart, we'll make it harder for ISIL to pump its terror and propaganda to the rest of the world," Obama said.
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