U.S. planes strikes help Iraqi forces break Islamic State’s siege

Written by : Mohamed Abdel Fattah

1 Sep 2014

Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, on Sunday broke a two-month siege by Islamic State (IS) militants of the northern town of Amerli, near the Iranian border, populated mostly by Shi’ite Turkmen

Opening up a humanitarian corridor to thousands of Shiite Turkmen who had been trapped by Sunni militants and deprived of food, water, and medicine.

US aircraft delivered over a hundred bundles of emergency supplies and more aid was dropped from British, French and Australian planes, officials said on Saturday.

Iraqi army and Kurdish forces closed in on Islamic State fighters on Saturday in a push to break the Sunni fighters' siege of Amerli, which has been surrounded by the fighters for more than two months.

The militants from the Islamic State were able to storm into Iraq in recent months in part because Sunnis felt so disenfranchised by the Shiite-led government of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The strikes destroyed an Islamic State armed vehicle, a fighting position and weapons, and damaged a building near Mosul Dam, the Pentagon said. Backed by U.S. air power, Kurdish forces recaptured the strategic facility nearly two weeks ago.

Residents struggled to fight off the militants, but were beginning to die of hunger and disease.

The United Nations Special Representative to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, last week warned of an impending “massacre” should Islamic State fighters breach the town.

The latest expansion of U.S. military operations reflects how seriously the situation in Iraq has deteriorated since the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 2011.

The daily cost of the effort, which has included airstrikes and sending American military advisors to assist the Iraqi military on the ground, has hit $7.5 million on average, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby

The United States was careful to note Sunday that it was working in Amerli with its allies: regular Iraqi army units and Kurdish security forces, which the U.S. has been supporting with air power since President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes several weeks ago.

Islamic State militants overran most of Sunni Arab areas of Iraq after seizing the northern city of Mosul on June 10, and have proclaimed a caliphate straddling the border with Syria, where they also control vast swaths of territory.

Sources

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/31/us-iraq-security-idUSKBN0GU0G920140831

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/us-attacks-islamic-state-near-besieged-town-20148312033424249.html

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