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US: Heavy Damage Inflicted on Islamic State
The United States says coalition airstrikes have inflicted heavy damage on Islamic State militants in Iraq, where the jihadists have launched a renewed offensive.
The Americans say large military units have been destroyed near Ramadi.
Hundreds of Iraqis are fleeing the area, which has faced an onslaught from IS fighters in the past two days.
If Islamic State militants succeed in gaining control of the building housing the military headquarters, it's feared the whole of Anbar Province will fall to the group.
It comes after the extremist group posted a video online showing its destruction of the ancient city of Nimrud.
An ancient depiction of a deity in Nimrud
The destruction was reported last month but IS have now released a video showing them taking hammers and power tools to the archaeological treasures in the city before blowing it up with barrels of explosives.
The militant group has attacked Nimrud and other ancient sites in Iraq as part of what it sees as a war against "false idols".
The Assyrian city was founded in the 13th century BC and is about 18 miles south-east of Mosul.
The region held by the militants in Iraq has nearly 1,800 of the country's 12,000 registered archaeological sites.
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