The US military has announced that it will conduct “massive” air strikes against Islamic State militants in the Middle East.
The strikes, which the US said it would conduct on Saturday, will target Islamic State fighters in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.
The announcement was made by US Central Command Commander Gen Philip Breedlove on Monday.
“We will target ISIS with unprecedented precision, targeting the group’s command and control infrastructure, as well as command and communications nodes,” Breedlove said.
“It will be the largest air campaign in the history of our coalition.”
Breedlove was speaking at the Pentagon, where the Pentagon has been pushing the US to go beyond air strikes and to conduct ground operations.
The Pentagon said that “at least 10 of our military bases in the region will be used to support the ground operation”.
The US has said that it is prepared to provide up to 500 air strikes a day to help the Iraqi military in the fight against ISIS.
The US Air Force said on Monday that it was sending about 200 combat troops to the region.
The Air Force also said that an additional 5,000 personnel were on the ground in Iraq.
The deployment was part of a broader effort by the US military and the White House to train and equip the Iraqi government.