The U.S. military says its latest airstrikes in Iraq killed an unusually large number of Islamic State fighters.

A U.S. Central Command statement Monday said a series of strikes hit targets near the Haditha Dam, including a “large” Islamic State ground unit. It mentioned no numbers, but a Central Command spokesman, Maj. Curtis Kellogg, said 50 to 70 fighters were targeted and most were believed to have been killed.

In reporting on its almost daily airstrikes, Central Command rarely mentions killing specific numbers of fighters. It usually lists in general terms the kinds of military targets struck, such as an armed truck or a “fighting position.”

The Haditha Dam is in western Iraq’s Anbar province.

The Pentagon has declined to publicly estimate the number of Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

(AP)