Sinjar battle could give momentum to Obama's Islamic State strategy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-backed drive by Iraqi Kurds to wrest the northern town of Sinjar and a slice of strategic highway from Islamic State could give new momentum to the Obama administration’s strategy to defeat the extremist group, U.S. officials and analysts said on Thursday.

The long-awaited Sinjar offensive is one of several signs, the officials argued, that U.S. President Barack Obama's much-criticized, slow-burn strategy against Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria is starting to produce results.