US Launches Airstrikes To Help Retake Iraq Dam US warplanes have carried out further strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq near Irbil and the Mosul Dam, a day after extremists are said to have massacred hundreds of Yazidi men. The US military confirmed nine airstrikes near the Kurdish regional capital and the countrys largest dam took place on Saturday in an effort to help Kurdish Peshmerga forces seize back ground lost to IS militants. US fighter jets and drones had destroyed or damaged four armoured personnel carriers, seven armed vehicles, two Humvees and an armoured vehicle, the military said. The Mosul Dam, which provides electricity to much of the region and is crucial to irrigation in vast farming areas, fell under IS control on August 7. Speaking about the fightback, Major General Abdulrahman Korini told the AFP news agency: Kurdish Peshmerga, with US air support, have seized control of the eastern side of the dam. He added that several jihadists had been killed. Meanwhile, Peshmerga forces have told Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford they need more advanced military hardware with which to fight, but are still waiting for arms to arrive from abroad despite promises agreed by EU foreign ministers. The US started its airstrikes against IS a week ago, in part to prevent the massacre of tens of thousands of Yazidis - people from a minority sect with an ancient religion, in northern Iraq. On Saturday, local officials and eyewitnesses said IS fighters killed almost 400 Yazidi men in the village of Kocho over two days before they abducted their wives and children. Islamic State group fighters besieged the village 12 days ago and gave its residents a deadline to convert to Islam, according to Yazidi politician Mahma Khalil. Mr Khalil said the massacre took place on Friday and Saturday. An eyewitness told AP that militants separated the men from the women and children under 12 years old. They took the men and male teenagers away in groups of a few dozen each and shot them on the edge of the village, he said. The fighters then walked among the bodies, using pistols to finish off anyone who appeared to still be alive. Since it began its advance in June, IS has swept across a large part of northern and central Iraq, seizing Mosul and threatening Baghdad and Irbil. Around 1.5 million people have been displaced by the fighting. The Ministry of Defence said it has deployed a US-made spy plane over the north of the country to monitor the humanitarian crisis and the movements of IS fighters. The converted Boeing KC-135 tanker - called a Rivet Joint - is monitoring mobile phone calls and other communications. Two British planes landed in Irbil on Saturday, carrying humanitarian supplies.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 08:43:09 +0000
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