Islamist militants surged across northern Iraq towards the capital of the Kurdish region yesterday, sending tens of thousands of Christians fleeing for their lives, in an offensive that prompted talk of Western military action. Reuters photographs showed what appeared to be Islamic State fighters (formerly known as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) controlling a checkpoint at the border area of the Kurdish semi-autonomous region, little over a 30-minute drive from Arbil, a city of 1.5 million, headquarters of the Kurdish regional government and many businesses. The fighters had raised the movement’s black flag over the guard post. However, a Kurdish security official denied that the militants were in control of the Khazer checkpoint, and the regional government said its forces were advancing and would “defeat the terrorists”, urging people to stay calm. US president Barack Obama addresses the nation from the State Dining Room of the White House, in Washington yesterday. Photograph: Mike Theiler/EPAObama authorises air strikes against militants in Iraq Members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fire their weapon towards forces loyal to the Islamic State in the Syrian-Iraqi border town of Elierbeh of al-Hasakah Governorate. Photograph: Rodi Said/ReutersKurd forces attack Islamic State fighters near regional capital The New York Times reported that US president Barack Obama was considering airstrikes or humanitarian airdrops to help trapped religious minorities in Iraq. The White House said the US government and military were supporting Iraqi and Kurdish forces to protect people trapped by Islamic State fighters. Spokesman Josh Earnest said any US military action would be “very limited in scope” and tied to Iraqi political reforms, adding: “There are no American military solutions to the problems in Iraq.” Sunni militants captured Iraq’s biggest Christian town, Qaraqosh, prompting many residents to flee, fearing they would be subjected to the same demands the Sunni militants made in other captured areas – leave, convert to Islam or face death. ‘Infidels’ The Islamic State, considered more extreme than al-Qaeda, sees Iraq’s majority Shias and minorities such as Christians and Yazidis, a Kurdish ethno- religious community, as infidels. France called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to “counter the terrorist threat in Iraq”. President François Hollande’s office said after he spoke by telephone with Kurdistan president Masoud Barzani that Paris was prepared to support forces engaged in the defence of Iraqi Kurdistan. It did not say how. Shares in energy companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan plummeted on news of the sweeping Islamist advance towards oilfields in the region. US oil company Chevron Corp said it was evacuating staff in light of the militants’ advance, and an industry source said Exxon Mobil Corp was also pulling out staff, although the company declined to comment on security concerns. The Islamic State said in a statement on its Twitter account that its fighters had seized 15 towns, the strategic Mosul dam on the Tigris River and a military base, in an offensive that began at the weekend. Kurdish officials say their forces still control the dam, which is Iraq’s biggest. Yesterday, two witnesses said by phone that Islamic State fighters had hoisted the group’s black flag over the dam, which could allow the militants to flood major cities or cut off significant water supplies and electricity. The Sunni militants inflicted a humiliating defeat on Kurdish forces in the weekend sweep, prompting tens of thousands from the ancient Yazidi community to flee the town of Sinjar for surrounding mountains. A Kurdish government security adviser said its forces had staged a tactical withdrawal. Bombings Facebook and Twitter were blocked in Kurdistan yesterday, initially for 24 hours. A government official said the reason was to prevent militants from gathering any information about the movement of Kurdish forces from social media, and to stop rumours and panic. The Kurdish regional government’s ministry of interior said in a statement that “our victory is close”. The security adviser said many layers of security and a trench protected the regional capital. “Arbil city is fine,” he said.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 08:30:12 +0000
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