Iraq conflict: U.S. launches new airstrikes on ISIS militants

The U.S. military says American jet fighters and drones have conducted four more airstrikes on Islamic militants in Iraq, taking out armoured carriers and a truck that were firing on civilians.

U.S. Central Command says the strikes were spread out, with three before noon ETon Saturday and one about 3 p.m.

The military says indications suggest that the strikes were successful in destroying the armoured vehicles.

This is the third round of airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS) forces by the U.S. military since they were authorized by President Barack Obama.

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Shortly after word of the latest attacks was reported, a spokesman with Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs told CBC, "Canada condemns in the strongest possible terms ISIS terrorists' repugnant killing of innocent civilians in northern Iraq, including women and children, Christian,Yazidiand other religious communities."

"Our government is consulting with like-minded countries to determine how Canada will continue to support the humanitarian needs of Iraqi civilians," AlexAsselinsaid in an email late Saturday.

Asselinsaid that since the beginning of this year, Canada has provided over $16 million to respond to humanitarian needs in Iraq, of which $6.8 million was forpopulations affected by civil unrest and $9.6 million for Syrian refugees.

As of June 2014, Iraq has been on the list of Canada'sdevelopment country partners, enabling further support, he said.

Obama justifies return to fighting

Earlier Saturday, Obama justified the U.S. military's return to fighting in Iraqby saying Americamust act now to prevent genocide, protect its diplomats and provide humanitarian aid to refugees trapped by Islamic militants on a
mountain ridge near the Syrian border.

"This is going to be a long-term project" that won't end and can't succeed unless Iraqis form an inclusive government in Baghdad capable of keeping the country from breaking apart, Obama said on the South Lawn of the White House, just before boarding Marine One for his summer vacation in Massachusetts.

Obama spoke after airstrikes from U.S. fighter jets and a dronekilled several small groups of ISIS extremists that wereattacking Kurdish forces and refugees. The military support helpedclear the way for aid flights to drop food and water to thousands ofstarving refugees.

But the help comes too late for many of the religious minoritiestargeted for elimination by the Islamic State group, which sweptpast U.S.-trained and equipped Iraqi government forces in recentweeks and now controls much of Iraq.

A delayed response by theShia-ledgovernment in Baghdad leftKurdish forces struggling to contain the Sunni extremists' advances.

U.S. military again drops suppliesto refugees

With nowhere to go but uphill, Kurdish-speakingYazidirefugeessought shelter in the Sinjarmountains, where theirancient religion holds that Noah's ark came to rest.

The U.S. military has dropped food and water for a third time to thousands of Iraqi refugees stranded on Mount Sinjar.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday night that the latest airdrop involved planes from multiple air bases, and included one C-17 and two C-130 cargo planes. Fighter aircraft flew in support of the airdrop.Officials say the aircraft delivered 72 bundles of supplies, including more than 3,800 gallons of water and more than 16,000 meals.

Iraq's Defence Ministry released a video showing people in theSinjarmountains rushing to collect food and water as the Iraqigovernment's fleet ofC130cargo planes dropped 20 tons of aid at atime.

But at least 56 children have died of dehydration in themountains, UNICEF's spokesman in Iraq,KarimElkorany, told TheAssociated Press on Saturday.

British officials estimated Saturday between 50,000 and 150,000people could be trapped on the mountain.

And Juan Mohammed, a local government spokesman in the Syrian city of Qamishli, told the AP that more than 20,000 starving Yazidis are fleeing across the border, braving gunfire through a tenuous "safe passage" that Kurdish peshmerga forces are trying to protect.

Some women lost their children along the way because ofexhaustion and fear, and at least nine Kurdish fighters were killedwhile defending the columns of refugees,Mohammedsaid.

"They are barefoot, tired and left everything behind" in Iraq,Mohammed said. Without significant help soon, those who haven'tcrossed yet "will be subjected to genocide."

The U.S. military officially withdrew its combat forces in late2011 after more than eight years of war. It returned to battleFriday when the two F/A-18 jets dropped 228-kg bombs on IslamicState fighters outsideIrbil.

Impact of hit not clear, general says

Gen. Ahmed, thepeshmergaspokesman at theKhazercheckpoint onthefrontlineoutsideErbil, said it was a "good hit," but theimpact wasn't yet clear. The Kurdish general spoke on condition hislast name not be used.

Obama was adamant Saturday thatU.S. troops can't bringpeace to Iraq.

"We can conduct airstrikes, but ultimately there's not going tobe an American military solution to this problem. There's going tohave to be an Iraqi solution that America and other countries andallies support," he said.

The Pentagon said the militants were using the artillery to shellKurdish forces defending the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdishregion, home to a U.S. consulate and about three dozen U.S. military trainers.

Iraq's embattled Prime MinisterNourial-Malikiwaited untilMonday to call in aerial reinforcements for Kurdish fighters tryingto contain the Islamic State's advance. It was his government'sfirst show of co-operation with the semi-autonomous Kurdish regionalgovernment since Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, fell to theextremists in June.

And so Kurdish officials were particularly pleased by the returnof U.S. air support as well as the military trainersco-ordinatingtactical responses with Kurdishpeshmergaforces in the Kurdishcapital ofErbil.

"Airstrikes are intended to degrade the terrorists'capabilities and achieve strategic gains -- and have been veryeffective, said Iraqi Foreign MinisterHoshyarZebari, a Kurd.

Many of America's allies have backed the U.S. intervention sincetheYazidisplight gained attention. British forces areco-ordinating aid drops with the U.S. and more broadly, trying tofigure out how to help the refugees escape from "a completelyunacceptable situation," British Defence Secretary Philip Hammondsaid.

TheYazidisfollow an ancient religion, with roots inZoroastrianism, which the Islamic State (ISIS)considers hereticaland has vowed to destroy. The extremist group also considers ShiaMuslims to be apostates, and has demanded that Christians convert toIslam, pay a special tax, or be killed.

Yazidi women seized by militants

Hundreds ofYazidiwomen have been seized by the militants, andtheir families say some were being held in schools in Mosul, saidKamilAmin, the spokesman for Iraq's Human Rights Ministry.

"We think that the terrorists by now consider them slaves andthey have vicious plans for them,"Amintold The Associated Press.

The militants have expanded north, west and south from theirstronghold in Mosul to capture Iraq's largest hydroelectric dam andreservoir in recent weeks. They also pushed southward throughSunni-majority towns almost to Baghdad, and now hold large parts ofwestern Iraq as well as swaths of neighbouring Syria.

• Yazidi minority singled out for hatred for long time

Ethnic and religious minorities fearing slaughter have fled. TheUNsaid more than 500,000 people have been displaced by the violencein Iraq since June, bringing this year's total to well overone million.

Iraqi government forces initially crumbled, but have since beenable to prevent the militants from advancing into Shiite-majorityareas. In the north, theKurdshave been the main line of defence.

ISISposted a video online Saturdaydemonstrating their conquests, including government offices inKurdishSinjarand the Mosul Dam, which fell to the militants onThursday. Militants are seen insulting Kurdish PresidentMassoudBarzaniby beating his picture with their shoes and slippers.

Obama said the U.S. will focus on helping refugees, eliminatingterrorists, protecting Americans and keeping "key infrastructure"intact so that the Islamic State group can't permanently crippleIraq before an inclusive government can form.

Sunnis in Iraq and Syria have "felt dissatisfied and detachedand alienated from their respective governments. And that has been aripe territory for thesejihadistsand extremists to operate,"Obama said. "Rebuilding governance in those areas, and legitimacyfor stable, moderate governing in those areas is going to taketime."