Although President Barack Obama has promised to keep troops stationed in Iraq away from ground combat, an airstrike has been authorized by the commander-in-chief in the northern part of the country. With members of an Iraqi sect under siege by militants from the Islamic State, President Obama said that the airstrikes would be limited to targets that could disrupt the threat to the sect.
Late Thursday night, President Obama laid out the plans of the military strike aimed at the Islamic State terrorists, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, in a press conference.
From President Obama:
“I directed our military to take targeted strikes against [Islamic State] terrorist convoys should they move toward the city. We intend to stay vigilant and take action if these terrorist forces threaten our personnel or facilities anywhere in Iraq, including our consulate in Erbil and our embassy in Baghdad.
We’re also providing urgent assistance to Iraqi government and Kurdish forces so they can effectively wage the fight against ISIS.”
The Iraqi government has also requested the United States assistance in humanitarian efforts to provide aid to reported 15,000 members of the Yazidi religious sect trapped in a mountainous region and surrounded by ISIS fighters. President Obama mentioned during the press conference that ISIS has been executing civilian Iraqis for their religious beliefs and so forth.
The president also cleared the U.S. military to drop necessary food supplies, water and other forms of aid for the Yazidi which was conducted by aircraft.
President Obama stated once more in the conference that there will be no ground troops involved, but did boldly state “America is coming to help.”
Watch the president’s statement regarding Iraq below.
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Photo: YouTube/WhiteHouse.gov
