Iraq conflict: US steps up air strikes on IS militants
9 Aug BBC
The US has launched two additional air strikes against militants from
the Islamic State (IS) group in northern Iraq, the Pentagon has said.US
drones and Navy fighter jets attacked targets near the Kurdish city of
Irbil a similar location to the first strike earlier on Friday.
The Sunni Muslim group IS has taken control of swathes of Iraq and
Syria.Tens of thousands of people from minority groups have fled their
homes due to the militants' advance.IS, formerly known as Isis, has also
seized Iraq's largest dam.These air strikes are the first time the US
has been directly involved in a military operation in Iraq since
American troops withdrew in late 2011.The US later also confirmed a
second air-drop of supplies to displaced people in the Sinjar area of
northern Iraq.n the second wave of air strikes, US drones destroyed a
mortar position and killed a group of militants, the Pentagon said.Then
just over an hour later, F/A-18 jets used laser-guided bombs to hit a
seven-vehicle convoy of IS vehicles, spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby
said.Earlier on Friday, two 500lb (227kg) bombs were dropped on IS
artillery being used against forces defending Irbil, capital of the
autonomous Kurdistan Region.
Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the US state department, told the BBC
that the immediate goal of the strikes was to "prevent the advance" of
IS towards Irbil.Then longer term obviously we want to work to provide
some time and space for the Kurdish forces to get back on their feet and
fight this threat on their own," she said.There's not really a long term
US military solution here." IS recently seized towns held by Kurdish "Peshmerga"
forces, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee into the mountains.
Although the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region have been at
odds for months, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki sent a plane load of
ammunition to Irbil on Friday, Reuters reported.Mr Maliki has previously
ordered the air force to support Kurdish fighters in their fight against
IS.
The White House said Vice-President Joe Biden had called Iraqi
President Fuad Masum on Friday and reiterated President Obama's
commitment to help Iraqi civilians and bolster Iraq's ability to fight
IS forces.Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the world
needed to wake up to the threat posed by the IS group.He said its
"campaign of terror against the innocent, including the Yazidi and
Christian minorities" showed "all the warning signs of genocide".British
government sources told the BBC the air strikes were entirely "a US
operation" and the UK was currently focused on humanitarian
efforts.While future participation in air strikes had not be ruled out,
it had not been discussed by the UK government's emergency committee
Cobra on Friday, and would not be over the weekend, the sources said.IS
fighters seized Qaraqosh, Iraq's biggest Christian town this week,
causing thousands to flee. The militants' advance also forced tens of
thousands of Yazidis to escape to mountains near Sinjar.
Late on Thursday, US military planes dropped food and water to help
the displaced Yazidis and early on Saturday confirmed a second air-drop.Iraq's
human rights ministry says the militants have seized hundreds of Yazidi
women.Ministry spokesman Kamil Amin, quoted by AP news agency, said some
were being held in schools in Iraq's second largest city Mosul.Back in
June, when Isis took over Mosul, Mr Maliki requested US air strikes to
halt the militants' advance - but Washington did not intervene.
Analysts say the relentless advance of IS fighters, together with the
continuing failure of Iraqi politicians to agree on a new government
after an election in April, may have swayed Mr Obama.
Mr Maliki has faced calls from Sunni Arab, Kurdish and some Shia Arab
leaders to step down because of his handling of the crisis.
But as leader of the bloc that won the most seats in April's
parliamentary elections, he has demanded the right to attempt to form a
governing coalition.
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