MOSCOW, August 31 (RIA Novosti) -US fighter aircraft and unmanned drones have struck the Islamic State (IS) militants near Iraq’s Mosul Dam, said the US Central Command in a statement, published on its official website.
“US military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in support of Iraqi security force operations, using fighter and remotely-piloted aircraft to conduct five airstrikes in the vicinity of the Mosul Dam,” said the statement released on Saturday.
US airstrikes have destroyed an armed vehicle, a fighting position and weapons and caused significant damage to an Islamic State building.
According to the statement, in total, the US Central Command has conducted 115 airstrikes across Iraq.
The Islamic State insurgent group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In 2014, IS militants launched an offensive in northern and western Iraq. On June 29, the group proclaimed the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories that had fallen under its control.
On August 7, US president Barack Obama authorized airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq – the first ones since the withdrawal of American troops in late 2011. The president also approved humanitarian aid to the Yezidis who, as Obama stated, face “genocide.”
