U.S. Official Confirms 3 Top Islamic State Leaders Killed In Airstrike

The U.S. announced Thursday that multiple top leaders of the Islamic State terrorist group were reportedly killed in a recent airstrike in Iraq.

U.S. officials announced that three of the terrorist organization's top leaders were killed in the airstrikes that took place over six days in early December. Although the organization's military commander, a key deputy and another top leader were killed, the group's senior commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been confirmed alive following the strikes.

U.S. Lieutenant General James Terry has hailed the effectiveness of American and ally airstrikes in diminishing the power of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

"We've made significant progress in halting that (militant) offensive," Terry told reporters at a recent press conference, as reported by Reuters.

Gen. Marin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that three head militants of the Islamic State had been killed during recent, weeks-long airstrikes.

According to the Telegraph, former Pentagon officials have criticized the recent airstrikes, arguing that they do not target a large enough amount of people to be deemed effective.

One official told the media outlet that this campaign only conducts a "few, often less than a dozen" airstrikes per day, compared to a previous campaign where hundreds of daily airstrikes successfully forced Sadam Hussein out of hiding.

"This cannot be called a military campaign," a former Pentagon official told the Telegraph.

President Barack Obama has previously stressed that the airstrike attacks are integral to defeating the spreading cancer that is the Islamic State.