US launches new airstrikes against ISIS Near Iraq's Haditha Dam
Written by : Mohamed Abdel Fattah
7 Sep 2014
The U.S. military said Sunday it launched fresh airstrikes around Haditha Dam in western Iraq, targeting Islamic State militant group there for the first time in a move to prevent the group from capturing the vital dam.
"We conducted these strikes to prevent terrorists from further threatening the security of the dam, which remains under control of Iraqi Security Forces, with support from Sunni tribes," Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
Dams have been a key target for the jihadists, and there has been major fighting around Iraq's largest dam on the Tigris River north of militant-held second city Mosul, which has been a major focus of the US air campaign.
“We will continue to conduct operations as needed in support of the Iraqi Security Forces and the Sunni tribes, working with those forces securing Haditha Dam,” Kirby said.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the airstrikes in a statement issued early Sunday, saying that five Humvees, an armed vehicle, and a checkpoint were destroyed. The strikes also damaged a militant bunker
Earlier this year, the group gained control of the Fallujah Dam on the Euphrates River and the militants used it as a weapon, opening it to flood downriver when government forces moved in on the city.
US officials have previously expressed concern about the integrity of both Haditha and Mosul dams, which require constant maintenance as a result of under-investment.The two dams are important sources of both power and irrigation water for farmers.
Water is a precious commodity in Iraq, a largely desert country of 32.5 million people. The decline of water levels in the Euphrates over recent years has led to electricity shortages in towns south of Baghdad, where steam-powered generators depend entirely on water levels
Previous strikes since Obama launched the US air campaign on August 8 had been mainly in support of Kurdish forces in the north.
At a NATO summit Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined a plan for a broad coalition to defeat the ISIS jihadist group, which led an offensive that over-ran chunks of five Iraqi provinces in June and also holds significant territory in neighboring Syria.
International concern has been building for some time over ISIS - which has carried out numerous atrocities including killings, kidnappings and attacks on minorities in areas it controls in Iraq and Syria.
Obama, under intense domestic pressure to set out his strategy for dealing with Islamic State, pleaded for patience to build support in the region, saying: "It is going to take time for us to form the regional coalition that's going to be required so that we can reach out to Sunni tribes in some of the areas that Isis has occupied, and make sure that we have allies on the ground in combination with the air strikes that we've already conducted."
Obama, criticised last week for saying the US "did not have a strategy" to defeat Isis in Iraq and Syria, also gradually expanded his military objectives, saying the aim was to degrade and destroy Isis, rather than just to protect US citizens and vulnerable minorities.
The United Nations has accused IS of ethnic cleansing in northern Iraq, detailing a campaign of mass detentions and executions in Christian, Turkmen and Yazidi Kurdish areas.
Sources
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/09/06/U-S-conducts-two-more-strikes-targeting-ISIS-in-Iraq-.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-push-for-iraqs-dams-draws-american-airstrikes/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/07/us-launches-new-airstrikes-against-isis-in-western-iraq/
7 Sep 2014
The U.S. military said Sunday it launched fresh airstrikes around Haditha Dam in western Iraq, targeting Islamic State militant group there for the first time in a move to prevent the group from capturing the vital dam.
"We conducted these strikes to prevent terrorists from further threatening the security of the dam, which remains under control of Iraqi Security Forces, with support from Sunni tribes," Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
Dams have been a key target for the jihadists, and there has been major fighting around Iraq's largest dam on the Tigris River north of militant-held second city Mosul, which has been a major focus of the US air campaign.
“We will continue to conduct operations as needed in support of the Iraqi Security Forces and the Sunni tribes, working with those forces securing Haditha Dam,” Kirby said.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the airstrikes in a statement issued early Sunday, saying that five Humvees, an armed vehicle, and a checkpoint were destroyed. The strikes also damaged a militant bunker
Earlier this year, the group gained control of the Fallujah Dam on the Euphrates River and the militants used it as a weapon, opening it to flood downriver when government forces moved in on the city.
US officials have previously expressed concern about the integrity of both Haditha and Mosul dams, which require constant maintenance as a result of under-investment.The two dams are important sources of both power and irrigation water for farmers.
Water is a precious commodity in Iraq, a largely desert country of 32.5 million people. The decline of water levels in the Euphrates over recent years has led to electricity shortages in towns south of Baghdad, where steam-powered generators depend entirely on water levels
Previous strikes since Obama launched the US air campaign on August 8 had been mainly in support of Kurdish forces in the north.
At a NATO summit Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined a plan for a broad coalition to defeat the ISIS jihadist group, which led an offensive that over-ran chunks of five Iraqi provinces in June and also holds significant territory in neighboring Syria.
International concern has been building for some time over ISIS - which has carried out numerous atrocities including killings, kidnappings and attacks on minorities in areas it controls in Iraq and Syria.
Obama, under intense domestic pressure to set out his strategy for dealing with Islamic State, pleaded for patience to build support in the region, saying: "It is going to take time for us to form the regional coalition that's going to be required so that we can reach out to Sunni tribes in some of the areas that Isis has occupied, and make sure that we have allies on the ground in combination with the air strikes that we've already conducted."
Obama, criticised last week for saying the US "did not have a strategy" to defeat Isis in Iraq and Syria, also gradually expanded his military objectives, saying the aim was to degrade and destroy Isis, rather than just to protect US citizens and vulnerable minorities.
The United Nations has accused IS of ethnic cleansing in northern Iraq, detailing a campaign of mass detentions and executions in Christian, Turkmen and Yazidi Kurdish areas.
Sources
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/09/06/U-S-conducts-two-more-strikes-targeting-ISIS-in-Iraq-.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-push-for-iraqs-dams-draws-american-airstrikes/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/07/us-launches-new-airstrikes-against-isis-in-western-iraq/
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