As caliphate crumbles, US builds outposts in western Iraq

QAIM, Iraq (AP) — The US-led coalition's newest outpost in the fight against the Islamic State group is in a dusty corner of western Iraq near the border with Syria. Here, several hundred American Marines operate close to the battlefront, a key factor in the recent series of swift victories against the extremists.

The Americans directed Iraqi troops in their victory last week recapturing the nearby border town of Qaim, the militants' last urban holding. Now the Marines will lead the equally difficult task of clearing the extremists from their last redoubt: a large stretch of empty desert north of the Euphrates River adjoining the border with Syria.

They also face the possibility of friction with Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militias that are increasing their own presence in the border region.

Under a plastic tent, the Marines run an austere joint command center about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border. A dozen monitors relay surveillance footage and troop positions in the town of Qaim nearby. Using racks of radio and satellite equipment, the coalition forces and Iraqi officers at the base pass information between forces on the ground and al-Asad air base, the coalition's main base in Anbar province some 80 miles to the east.

Such outposts have become more common the past year, bringing the Americans out of main bases and closer to the action. U.S. commanders say the tactic has paid off in the swift rollback of the Islamic State group.

The capture of Qaim completed the sweep driving IS from major towns along the Euphrates Valley in Iraq. Along the river on the Syrian side, Syrian government forces took the city of Deir el-Zour last week and the border town of Boukamal facing Qaim today.