50,000 IS fighters killed in 2 yrs: US

At least 50,000 Islamic State jihadists have been killed by the US-led coalition since it began operations in Iraq and Syria in late 2014, a senior US military official said Thursday.

A relentless operation using planes and drones from a dozen or so members of the anti-IS coalition since August 2014 has conducted some 16,000 air strikes against the jihadists in Iraq and Syria -- two-thirds of them in Iraq.

In addition, the coalition has provided training and weapons to local forces fighting IS.

"I am not into morbid counts but that kind of volume matters, that kind of impact on the enemy," the official said, calling the 50,000 number a conservative estimate.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the air campaign had been the "most pristine" ever in terms of avoiding civilian casualties, with almost all the bombs dropped so far being smart weapons that can be steered to a precise target.

The coalition tally of civilians killed in the operations is 173 -- though critics say the real figure is far higher.

The official said the coalition had diminished IS's ranks to such a level that the simultaneous attacks being waged on Mosul in Iraq and Raqa in Syria have been possible.

Coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian said earlier that in Mosul, IS was turning to adolescent fighters as its hardcore warriors got wiped out.

"As this effort goes on with each passing day, Daesh has fewer fighters and fewer resources at their disposal," Dorrian said in a video call.