Washington - US military forces have conducted airstrikes against an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) target near Baghdad for the first time as part of an expanded effort to combat the jihadist militants, the US Central Command said.
Attack aircraft were used in a strike on Monday in support of Iraqi government troops south-west of Baghdad.
The airstrike was described as the first in "expanded efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions to hit (ISIS) targets as Iraqi forces go on offense, as outlined in the president's speech" last week, the military said.
The statement said the strike had destroyed an ISIS fighting position that was firing on Iraqi soldiers outside Baghdad.
The US has conducted 162 airstrikes across Iraq since early August, the Central Command said.