In a new military operation in Iraq after a gap of nearly three years, the United States on Friday launched airstrikes on the advancing Islamic militants, targeting their mobile artillery outside Irbil, a city with a presence of American diplomats and military personnel.
Two F/A-18 fighters dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on the artillery belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) that was being used to shell Kurdish forces defending Irbil, the Pentagon said.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said it was not immediately clear how many militants might have been killed in the strike. The F-18s had taken off from the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush in the Persian Gulf for the mission.
The airstrikes followed an authorisation by President Barack Obama late on Thursday in a concerted move aimed at preventing a potential “genocide” of thousands of Christians and Yazidis and protecting the American personnel.
Obama also ordered an immediate airdrop of humanitarian supplies for the religious minorities who were confined to a mountaintop after fleeing from the ISIS extremists. The trapped men, women and children were “without food and water and facing almost certain death”, he said in a statement delivered on Thursday night.
The US fighters hit Islamic State positions in Makhmour, about 35 miles southwest of Irbil, an official of the Kurdish Interior Ministry was quoted as saying. “This is a victory for all the Iraqi people, for the Pesh Merga (the Kurdish security force), and for America,” commented the official.
Obama sought to quell possible criticism that he was ordering a US return to the Iraqi battlefield which it left by the end of 2011 at his bidding, Obama sought to make it clear that American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq.
Indicating that he was authorising a limited operation at the request of the Iraqi Government, Obama asserted that he would not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq, adding: “There’s no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq. The only lasting solution is reconciliation among Iraqi communities and stronger Iraqi security forces.”
An official of the Kurdish Interior Ministry welcomed the US operation, commenting: “This is a victory for all the Iraqi people, for the Pesh Merga, and for America. We need these airstrikes to destroy their bases and vehicles so the Pesh Merga can move forward.”
Justifying his authorisation for the airstrikes, Obama said the United States cannot turn a blind eye to the plight of thousands of Iraqi religious minorities atop a mountain and surrounded by militants.
“We can act carefully and responsibly to prevent a potential act of genocide…I’ve therefore authorised targeted airstrikes, if necessary, to help forces in Iraq as they fight to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and protect the civilians trapped there,” he said at the end of a hectic consultations at the White House.
“America is coming to help,” Obama told the Yazidis, who fled their homes after the ISIS issued an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a religious fine, flee their homes or face death.
Obama said the US is also consulting with other countries and the United Nations, who have called for action to address this humanitarian crisis. “Once Iraq has a new government, the United States will work with it and other countries in the region to provide increased support to deal with this humanitarian crisis and counterterrorism challenge,” he said, adding on a critical note: “None of Iraq’s neighbours have an interest in this terrible suffering or instability.”
Referring to American diplomats working at the US consulate in Irbil and military personnel advising the Iraqis, Obama said: “When the lives of American citizens are at risk, we will take action. That’s my responsibility as commander-in-chief.”
Back in June, Obama had made the first move to help Iraqi forces deal with the ISIS challenge. At that time, Obama dispatched 700 US troops to Iraq essentially to protect the US Embassy, the Baghdad international airport and facilities in Irbil, besides carrying out an assessment of the capabilities of Iraqi forces.
Giving details of the airdrops of humanitarian aid for the religious minorities on the mountainside in Sinjar, the Pentagon said this mission was conducted from multiple airbases within the US Central Command area of responsibility. One C-17 and two C-130 aircraft dropped a total of 72 bundles of supplies. Escorted by two F/A-18s, the planes delivered 20,000 litres of fresh drinking water and 8,000 pre-packaged meals and were over the drop area for less than 15 minutes at a low altitude.