President Obama launched a robust defense of his strategy to defeat the Islamic State with a detailed account on Monday of territory taken from the enemy, bombs dropped and leaders killed. “We are hitting ISIL harder than ever,†Obama said, using an acronym for the group. So far, he said, the United States has dropped nearly 9,000 bombs and last month struck more targets since the United States began attacking the Islamic State last year. Obama has been under intense pressure from Democrats and Republicans to increase the pace and intensity of the campaign against the Islamic State following recent...