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About 800 Iraqi forces backed by U.S. warplanes are waging a battle to retake the western town of Al-Baghdadi from ISIS jihadis, a U.S. military commander said Monday, The Daily Star reported.

The clashes came as new U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter convened an extraordinary war council on Iraq’s doorstep six days after taking office, gathering military and diplomatic leaders to discuss the Obama administration’s oft-criticized strategy for countering ISIS.

Kurdish militia, meanwhile, rebuffed an attempt by the ISIS group Sunday night to recapture an Iraqi town standing on a crucial supply route to the northern city of Mosul, the commander said.

Lt. Gen. James Terry, who oversees the U.S.-led war effort against ISIS, told reporters the jihadis had been “halted” across Iraq and that it was now only able to launch smaller-scale attacks.

Terry, who is headquartered in Kuwait, said that while the ISIS militants are under mounting pressure, the Iraqi army was improving.

“The capabilities that we’re seeing in the Iraqi security forces are growing,” the general said.

“At the same time, what we’re not seeing on the part of Daesh [ISIS] is as important also. We’re not seeing those broad counter-offensives” that they staged previously, he said.

Iraqi army and commando units, as well as tribal fighters, were currently carrying out an operation to retake the small town of Al-Baghdadi which ISIS had seized about a week ago, according to Terry.

The counterattack, dubbed “Lion’s Revenge,” involved “well over 800” Iraqi forces, including mechanized units.