From Al Jazeera: US launches airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq’s Kurdistan Pentagon says strikes on Islamic State artillery positions came after group shelled Kurdish forces near US personnel August 8, 2014 9:11AM ET American warplanes have carried out airstrikes against advancing Islamic State (IS) positions in northern Iraq after artillery fire near U.S. personnel, the Pentagon said Friday. The U.S. conducted a strike on IS artillery that was used against Kurdish forces defending Erbil, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary. “At approximately 6:45 a.m. EDT, the U.S. military conducted a targeted airstrike against [IS] terrorists,” Kirby said in a statement. “Two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a mobile artillery piece near Erbil. [The IS] was using this artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending Erbil where U.S. personnel are located.” The decision to strike came from the head of U.S. Central Command under authorization of President Barack Obama — who made clear, Kirby said, that the U.S. military will continue to take action against the IS whenever its fighters threaten Americans or U.S. facilities. Since June the IS has swept through many northern Iraq villages, many home to religious minorities targeted by the group. The fighters also captured the country’s largest dam on Thursday. Their advance has accelerated over the past week as they routed Kurdish troops near the Kurds’ autonomous region in northern Iraq. The retreat of the Kurds has brought the IS to within half an hour’s drive of Erbil. The prosperous and — until recently — safe regional capital serves as a hub for U.S. and European oil companies, many of which have evacuated staff in recent days. The Al-Qaeda splinter group IS has taken control of numerous cities and major oil fields in Syria and Iraq. Its stated aim is to create a caliphate and impose its radical version of Islamic law. Speaking Thursday, Obama said the U.S. would “help Iraqis to push back” against the armed group but cautioned that it would be a limited action that did not involve ground troops. “The president’s decision to use force in Iraq was appropriate, given the circumstances,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon said Friday. “We must all understand that [the IS] threatens both the Iraqi people and poses a clear and present danger to the United States. It is regrettable that [the IS’] rise was preventable, but we must now look forward to the task ahead.” Obama sent more than 800 U.S. troops to Iraq after the group’s gains, mainly to protect the U.S. embassy and its personnel. The troops have also helped to provide security cooperation with Iraq’s military. Al Jazeera and wire services
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 17:39:54 +0000
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