Islamist militants surged across northern Iraq towards the capital of the Kurdish region on Thursday (August 7), sending tens of thousands of Christians fleeing for their lives, in an offensive that prompted talk of Western military action.
Reuters photographs showed what appeared to be Islamic State (IS) fighters controlling a checkpoint at the border area of the Kurdish semi-autonomous region, little over 30 minutes' drive from Arbil, a city of 1.5 million that is the headquarters of the Kurdish regional government and many businesses.
The militant fighters had raised the movement's black flag over the guard post, but a Kurdish security official denied that the militants were in control of the Khazer checkpoint, and the regional government said its forces were advancing and would “defeat the terrorists” urging people to stay calm.
Reports Islamic State militants were approaching the Kurdish city of Arbil forced thousands of refugees from Mosul city to flee again.
They had sought refuge in the Kurdish city for nearly two months, after the fall of their city to Islamic militants.
Fadhil Jum'a Jihad, a displaced Shi'ite Shabak from Bertela town near Mosul, said that they had been living under the protection of the Peshmerga fighters.
The weekend defeat of Kurdish forces by Islamists north of the city of Mosul damaged the region's image as an island of stability in the chaos of Iraq, and the Kurds are now accepting help from the Iraqi air force to fight the shared enemy.
Sunni militants captured Iraq's biggest Christian town, Qaraqosh, prompting many residents to flee, fearing they would be subjected to the same demands the Sunni militants made in other captured areas - leave, convert to Islam or face death.
US Airstrike
U.S. military aircraft conducted an airstrike on Friday against Islamic State artillery used against Kurdish forces defending the city of Arbil, Iraq, near U.S. personnel, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a mobile artillery piece near Arbil, Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
He said the Islamic rebels had been using the artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending Arbil where U.S. personnel are located.
"The decision to strike was made by the U.S. Central Command commander under authorization granted him by the commander in chief," he said.
Kirby said the strike occurred at 6:45 a.m. EDT, or 1:45 p.m. in Arbil (1045 GMT).
On Thursday U.S. President Barack Obama authorized air strikes on Iraq to protect Christians and avert "a potential act of genocide" of tens of thousands of members of the ancient Yazidi sect who have taken refuge on a desert mountaintop from Islamic State forces.
The United States has also begun dropping relief supplies to the refugees.
US Federal Aviation Administration
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restricted US air carriers from flying in Iraqi airspace "due to the hazardous situation created by the armed conflict" currently raging there.
The move superseded a previous directive from Aug. 1 when the FAA restricted U.S. airlines from flying at or below 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) over Iraq.
REUTERS
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