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| RAF planes make second aid drop in northern Iraq | RAF planes make second aid drop in northern Iraq |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| RAF planes have dropped a second round of aid to refugees in northern Iraq, the UK government has confirmed. | |
| Two consignments were dropped over Mount Sinjar on Monday night, the Department for International Development said. | Two consignments were dropped over Mount Sinjar on Monday night, the Department for International Development said. |
| They come as RAF Tornado jets are being sent for possible use in aid operations, after thousands of people fled from Islamist fighters. | They come as RAF Tornado jets are being sent for possible use in aid operations, after thousands of people fled from Islamist fighters. |
| The government said on Monday the jets would leave within the next 48 hours. | The government said on Monday the jets would leave within the next 48 hours. |
| Supplies dropped overnight included 3,180 reusable water purification containers containing a total of 15,900 litres of clean water, and 816 solar lamps that can also be used to charge mobile phones. | |
| The first drop took place on Saturday, delivering 1,200 water containers and 240 solar lanterns. | |
| A further drop planned for Sunday night had to be abandoned because of fears that people could be injured by the cargo. | |
| 'Deeply worrying' | |
| Islamic State (IS) fighters have seized territory across Iraq and Syria in the past few months, with continuing reports of the slaughter of Iraqi religious minority groups. | |
| Among those reportedly being targeted by fighters are Christians and members of the Yazidi community. Thousands of Yazidi civilians have been trapped in the Sinjar mountains. | |
| International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: "The humanitarian situation in Iraq area is deeply worrying. | |
| "ISIS terrorists continue to contest towns and villages south of Erbil and in the Sinjar area and the Yazidi community face appalling conditions, cut off on Mount Sinjar. | |
| "UK aid is already helping the people who desperately need it." | |
| Downing Street has said the government is working closely with Iraqi, Kurdish and international representatives to "mitigate safety concerns" that led to the cancellation of Sunday's delivery. | |
| No 10 said in a statement: "The challenge of getting aid safely to those on the mountain reinforces the need for a long-term solution that gets these people to safety." | |
| The RAF Tornado jets are set to take off from RAF Marham in Norfolk, and could carry out surveillance to assist delivery of aid supplies. |