President Obama has claimed progress in fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State while urging U.S. allies to do more. Speaking after a national security meeting at the Pentagon, Obama touted the gains of the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq and Syria, claiming it’s hitting ISIL “harder than ever.”

President Obama: “This continues to be a difficult fight. As I said before, ISIL is dug in, including in urban areas, and they hide behind civilians, using defenseless men, women and children as human shields. So even as we’re relentless, we have to be smart, targeting ISIL surgically, with precision. … We are hitting ISIL harder than ever. Coalition aircraft, our fighters, bombers and drones have been increasing the pace of airstrikes—nearly 9,000 as of today.”

Secretary of State John Kerry is in Moscow to meet with Russian leaders and attempt to pave the way for possible peace talks on Syria. We’ll have more on Syria and the Islamic State after headlines.