This Article is From Aug 08, 2014

US Begins Strikes in Iraq, Pentagon Says

US Begins Strikes in Iraq, Pentagon Says

Iraqi volunteers who joined government forces to fight against Sunni jihadist militants of the Islamic State (IS) hold a position at a checkpoint in Diyala

Washington: US warplanes struck Sunni militant positions in northern Iraq on Friday, the Pentagon said in a statement, confirming the first significant US military operation since ground troops left Iraq in 2011.

Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said that two F-18 fighters dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a mobile artillery target near Irbil. Militants of the Islamic State were using the artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending Irbil, Kirby said in a statement.

The strike followed President Barack Obama's announcement Thursday night that he had authorized limited air strikes to protect US citizens in Irbil and Baghdad, and, if necessary, to break the siege of tens of thousands of refugees stranded on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq.

"As the president made clear, the United States military will continue to take direct action against ISIL when they threaten our personnel and facilities," Kirby said, referring to the Islamic State militants.

© 2014, The New York Times News Service
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