US expands IS air strikes in Iraq to Sunni Arab heartland
Print Edition
WASHINGTON expanded its month-long air campaign to Iraq’s Sunni Arab heartland, hitting Islamic State fighters west of Baghdad as troops and allied tribesmen launched a ground assault yesterday.
The new strikes deepen Washington’s involvement in the conflict and were a significant escalation for United States President Barack Obama, who made his political career opposing the war in Iraq and pulled out US troops in 2011.
Previous strikes since the US air campaign began on August 8 had been mainly in support of Kurdish forces in the north.
US warplanes bombed IS fighters around a strategic dam on the Euphrates River in an area that the jihadists have repeatedly tried to capture from government troops and their Sunni militia allies.
“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 spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.
“The potential loss of control of the dam or a catastrophic failure of the dam — and the flooding that might result — would have threatened US personnel and facilities in and around Baghdad, as well as thousands of Iraqi citizens.”
Iraq moved yesterday to capitalize on the strikes, launching a drive against militants in the Haditha area.
“Joint forces backed by air support and tribesmen launched a wide attack to clear the areas surrounding the Haditha district,” security spokesman Lieutenant General Qassem Atta said.
The troops and militia retook the town of Barwana, east of Haditha, from the jihadists, who abandoned their weapons and vehicles in their retreat, reports said.
Western governments have come under mounting pressure to take strong action against IS, which controls a swath of neighboring Syria as well as significant territory north and west of Baghdad.
The jihadist group has carried out a spate of atrocities in areas under its control, some of which it has videotaped and paraded on the Internet.
The United Nations has accused IS of ethnic cleansing in Iraq, detailing a campaign of mass detentions and executions in Christian, Turkmen and Yazidi Kurdish areas.
The beheading of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff has added to the pressure on Western leaders.
Western governments are concerned that nationals who have gone to Syria or Iraq to fight with IS will return home to carry out attacks. A French journalist held hostage in Syria by IS said in comments published on Saturday that one of his captors was a Frenchman of Algerian descent.
Washington has said operations in Syria will be needed to defeat IS, but has so far ruled out any cooperation with the government in Damascus for fear of driving other Sunni rebel groups to make common cause with the jihadists.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
