Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that new tactics approved by US President Donald Trump to defeat the ISIS in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters have thrown the group on "their back foot".
Speaking during a Pentagon press conference, Mattis said the US-led coalition was increasing its pressure on ISIS by encircling fighters in their "strongholds". "Trump directed a tactical shift from shoving ISIS out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate ISIS," Mattis said. 
He explained that by "taking the time up front to surround these locations, instead of simply shoving them from one to another" coalition forces are able to "carry out the annihilation campaign so we don't simply transplant this problem from one location to another".
Mattis noted that commanders have been given greater authority to move quickly in the fight without first seeking approval from Washington. "We have changed, tactically, how we're going to carry it out. We have accelerated the campaign and that's shown up clearly in our tactical reports that are coming in," Mattis said.
He noted that the ISIS has lost 55% of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria and over 4 million people have been liberated from its control.

Source: QNA