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Iraq conflict: Obama vows to stop jihadist state Iraq conflict: Obama vows to stop jihadist state
(about 2 hours later)
US President Barack Obama has said he will not allow Sunni Muslim jihadists to carve out a "caliphate", or Islamic state, straddling Syria and Iraq. US President Barack Obama has said he will not allow jihadists to carve out a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq.
The US has been carrying out air strikes on Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Iraq. On Friday, the US began launching air strikes on fighters of the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq.
Mr Obama said there would be further air strikes if necessary but no US military operation on the ground.Mr Obama said there would be further air strikes if necessary but no US military operation on the ground.
The UK has sent a plane to join the Americans in dropping relief to beleaguered religious refugees. The UK has sent a plane to join the relief operation on Mt Sinjar, where thousands of members of the Yazidi religious minority are stranded.
A cargo plane left RAF Brize Norton in England carrying British humanitarian aid to Iraq, the BBC understands. A cargo plane left RAF Brize Norton in England carrying humanitarian aid.
IS, a jihadist group formerly known as Isis, has taken control of swathes of Iraq and Syria and has also seized the country's largest dam. The Pentagon earlier said it had carried out a second air drop that included more than 1,500 gallons of water and 28,000 meals.
As well as persecuting Christian and Yazidi minorities, the group is confronting the Kurds in northern Iraq and threatening the city of Irbil. About 50,000 Yazidis fled into the mountains after IS fighters overran the nearby town of Sinjar a week ago.
Mr Obama has accused Iraq's Shia Arab majority of squandering an opportunity to share power with the Sunni Arabs and Kurds. "We have one or two days left to help these people. After that they will start dying en masse," Yazidi MP Vian Dakhil told the AFP news agency.
IS, formerly known as Isis, has taken control of swathes of northern and western Iraq, and recently seized Mosul dam, the country's largest.
As well as threatening Yazidis and Christians, the group is confronting Kurdish Peshmerga forces and threatening the city of Irbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.
'We can run them off''We can run them off'
In an interview for the New York Times, Mr Obama said: "We're not going to let them [IS] create some caliphate through Syria and Iraq, but we can only do that if we know that we've got partners on the ground who are capable of filling the void." US fighter jets carried out two waves of air strikes west of Irbil on Friday - the first time US forces have been directly involved in a military operation in Iraq since they withdrew from the country in late 2011.
"We can run [IS] off for a certain period of time, but as soon as our planes are gone, they're coming right back in." In an interview with the New York Times, Mr Obama said he was willing to consider broader use of military strikes to push back IS, but warned that Iraq's political leaders had to start working with each other.
"We're not going to let them create some caliphate through Syria and Iraq," he said. "But we can only do that if we know that we have got partners on the ground who are capable of filling the void."
Iraq's politicians have been unable to form a government since April's parliamentary elections, which were won by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's State of Law Coalition.
He has rejected calls to step down from Sunni Arabs, Kurds and some fellow Shia Arabs, who accuse him of mishandling the security crisis and pursuing sectarian and authoritarian policies during his two terms in office.
In his weekly radio address, Mr Obama emphasised that the US air strikes and humanitarian effort in northern Iraq were vital but limited.In his weekly radio address, Mr Obama emphasised that the US air strikes and humanitarian effort in northern Iraq were vital but limited.
"In recent days, terrorist forces neared the city (of Irbil)," he said. "Thursday night, I made it clear that if they attempted to advance further, our military would respond with targeted strikes. "In recent days, terrorist forces neared [Irbil]," he said. "I made it clear that if they attempted to advance further, our military would respond with targeted strikes.
"That's what we've done and, if necessary, that's what we will continue to do.""That's what we've done and, if necessary, that's what we will continue to do."
He also promised not to let the US be "dragged into fighting another war in Iraq".He also promised not to let the US be "dragged into fighting another war in Iraq".
"American combat troops will not be returning to the fight," he said. A senior official in the Kurdistan Regional Government said that following the US air strikes, the Peshmerga would "first regroup, second redeploy in areas they retreated from, and third help the displaced return home".
The US has conducted its second air drop of food and water to thousands of Iraqis hiding in mountains from IS, the Pentagon says.
The aid was dropped into the mountains around the town of Sinjar, where up to 50,000 members of the Yazidi religious sect fled an IS advance a week ago.
The Pentagon said the supplies included more than 1,500 gallons of water and 28,000 meals. As well as the UK, Australia is considering playing a part in the air drops.
The US carried out two waves of air strikes on Friday - the first time US forces have been directly involved in a military operation in Iraq since American troops withdrew in late 2011.
Iraq's minoritiesIraq's minorities
ChristiansChristians
YazidisYazidis
Iraq: The minorities of NinevehIraq: The minorities of Nineveh
Who are the Yazidis?Who are the Yazidis?