The U.S. is urging its allies in the fight against ISIL to get creative. Diplomats and defense officials, meeting in Washington, D.C., are also being asked to spend more. This comes amid reports that ISIL is losing ground in Iraq and Syria.

CCTV America’s Roee Ruttenberg reports.

The U.S. led coalition said its military approach in Iraq and Syria is succeeding. It claims ISIL is losing ground, and that more needs to be done now to prepare for a post-ISIL reality.

Ash Carter and John Kerry jointly hosted a meeting of delegates from more than 30 countries. The aim: to integrate diplomatic and defense strategies. Not just for defeating ISIL, but for rebuilding afterwards.

“We have to create living conditions in the liberated areas, in which the people are able and willing to return,” Frank-Walter Steinmeir, German foreign minister, said. “Therefore, we need engagement. But for this engagement, we need some money.”

According to United Nations’ estimates, billions of dollars will be required to resettle the millions of people displaced by fighting. The event in D.C. raised $2 billion in pledges.

Meanwhile, as the military campaign intensifies, so too have the air strikes. The U.S. said it is using precision air power to destroy ISIL staging areas, and released footage of an air-strike on Manbij, near the Syrian-Turkish border.

A U.K.-based human rights group said those strikes have killed more than 50 civilians, many of which were children.

It also said Russian and Syrian strikes on rebel-held cities, including Aleppo and Douma, have killed dozens more.

Ari Ratner on defense ministers meeting in Washington

For more on the international group of defense ministers meeting in Washington, D.C., CCTV America’s Mike Walter spoke to Ari Ratner, fellow of Truman National Security Project.