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Iraq: US air strike on Islamic State militants in Iraq | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The US says it has launched an air strike against militants from the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq. | The US says it has launched an air strike against militants from the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq. |
The Pentagon said American aircraft attacked artillery that was being used against Kurdish forces defending the northern city of Irbil. | |
President Barack Obama authorised air strikes on Thursday, but said he would not send US troops back to Iraq. | President Barack Obama authorised air strikes on Thursday, but said he would not send US troops back to Iraq. |
The Sunni Muslim group IS, formerly known as Isis, now has control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria. | The Sunni Muslim group IS, formerly known as Isis, now has control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria. |
In June, IS took control of the city of Mosul. Earlier this week, its fighters seized Qaraqosh, Iraq's biggest Christian town, and other towns nearby. | |
'Carefully and responsibly' | |
According to the Pentagon statement, two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on mobile artillery near Irbil. | |
Struggle for Iraq: In maps | |
Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said IS had been using the artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending Irbil, where US personnel are based. | |
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Obama said the Iraqi government had requested assistance and the US would act "carefully and responsibly, to prevent a potential act of genocide" against the Yazidi and Christian communities - both minority groups in Iraq. | |
Dr Marzio Babille, Unicef's representative in Iraq, said the Yazidis were in an extremely precarious situation because of the "very aggressive and brutal" IS militants. | |
He said there were many "logistical and strategic difficulties", but added that a humanitarian corridor needed to be established. |