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As ISIS Caliphate Crumbles, U.S. Builds Outposts in Western Iraq
(AP-Military Times) Susannah George - Several hundred American Marines are operating close to the battlefront in the fight against Islamic State in western Iraq near the border with Syria. The Americans directed Iraqi troops in their recapture last week of the border town of Qaim, the militants' last urban holding. Now they will lead the task of clearing the extremists from a large stretch of empty desert north of the Euphrates River. They also face the possibility of friction with Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militias that are increasing their own presence in the region. U.S. commanders say bringing the Americans out of main bases and closer to the action in the past year has paid off in the swift rollback of Islamic State.