Military chiefs from the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State are meeting today in Washington as the militant group continues to advance in Iraq and Syria. ISIS fighters have reportedly claimed nearly half of the embattled town of Kobani, along the Syria-Turkey border, despite three weeks of U.S.-led airstrikes. On Monday, security sources told Agence France-Presse that the city of Heet on the edge of Anbar province was entirely under ISIS control after Iraqi government troops withdrew from a key base. Heet is about 115 miles west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. The United Nations says as many as 180,000 people have fled the area in and around Heet. Speaking Monday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Iraqi forces must take the lead on the ground.

Philip Hammond: “Of course, we are looking with coalition partners at how best to support the needs of the Iraqi security forces for retraining, for technical support and assistance. And we absolutely are prepared to provide personnel for specialist roles, for training roles, but not to take the combat lead. That combat lead has to come from Iraqi security forces, peshmerga, and in Syria from the moderate opposition, Free Syrian Army forces.”