(VOVworld) – Islamic State (IS) militants have lost only a tiny fraction of captured territory in Iraq after five months of US-led air strikes, the Pentagon said Friday.

Islamic State (IS)

Kurdish peshmerga forces and Iraqi government troops have retaken 700 square kilometres of ground mostly in northern Iraq, but the IS group still holds 55,000 square kilometres, spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters. That amounts to roughly one per cent of IS-held territory changing hands since the US launched air raids in Iraq. Kirby acknowledged that not much ground had been gained back so far but said that the air strikes had halted the momentum of the militants and bought time for the training of Baghdad government forces. He said that the US military has made clear the campaign against IS "is going to take time, to uproot these guys and to really get at them.