Coalition aircraft on Monday targeted a former Turkish government building in Mosul, Iraq, that ISIS had turned into a headquarters facility in its stronghold, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. The coalition received Ankara’s blessing to bomb its former consulate in Mosul, killing multiple ISIS leaders and destroying a weapons compound in the middle of the city, he added. The building fell into ISIS control in June 2014 and has been a headquarters of operations in the city, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Turkey approved this operation at all stages, from preparation to execution,” the Foreign Ministry said, according to the Rudaw news agency. “Our country continues to combat Daesh activities in cooperation with the international anti-ISIS coalition.” Coalition aircraft in Iraq also targeted a senior ISIS fighter linked to the March 19 death of US Marine SSgt. Louis Cardin, who was killed by a rocket attack on his operating base near Makhmur. Jasim Khadijah, a former Iraqi officer, was killed by the drone strike in northern Iraq, the coalition announced on Sunday.
House lawmakers are encouraging the Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command to work together as each pursues long-range, long-endurance reconnaissance drones. Both entities are investing in unmanned assets that can slip into highly defended areas, loiter over a particularly valuable target for days at a time, and traverse multiple…