US: Fighting in Syrian city yields trove of IS intelligence

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is exploiting an enormous amount of digital information about the Islamic State obtained by Syrian rebels fighting for control of the city of Manbij, a spokesman for the American-led military coalition said today.

Speaking by phone from Baghdad, Col. Christopher Garver told reporters at the Pentagon that it's unclear how this trove of intelligence might affect the direction of the war, but he suggested it has been of considerable value.

"We think this is a big deal," he said.

Garver also revealed that the U.S. for the first time has placed its military advisers at lower-level Iraqi army headquarters, an important decision because it places the advisers closer to the front lines.

The authority for that was approved by President Barack Obama in April. Before Obama's go-ahead, the U.S. military was not permitted to place advisers at echelons lower than division headquarters, which are farther from the front lines.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, speaking to soldiers of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C., referred to the intelligence trove while describing progress in Manbij. He said that city is one of the last junctions connecting the Islamic State's self-declared capital of Raqqa, Syria, to the outside world, and called it "a key transit point" for extremists plotting international attacks.