14/02/2015 09:44
Key Iraqi town near US training base falls to IS
Islamic State (IS) has captured an Iraqi town about 8km (5 miles) from an air base housing hundreds of US troops, the Pentagon says, the BBC reported.
US officials downplayed the fall of al-Baghdadi, which is within striking distance of the Ain al-Asad air base.
Ain al-Asad was itself attacked by IS on Friday though the militants were repelled, officials say.
Until its fall, al-Baghdadi was one of the few towns in the western Anbar province still held by the Iraqi army.
Rear Adm John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said the development had to be put into perspective.
It was the first time in the last a couple of months that the militant group had taken new ground, he said.