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                US Continues Humanitarian Aid to Iraqi Refugees

   by VOA News

   The U.S. military continues to drop humanitarian aid to refugees
   stranded in the mountains of northern Iraq, about 200 kilometers from
   the Kurdish capital of  Irbil.

   Three airdrops have delivered more than 52,000 meals and more than
   10,600 gallons of fresh drinking water to the displaced Christians,
   Yazidis and other religious minorities who fled to the hills in fear of
   the violent advance by Islamic State fighters.

   The U.S. military says it also has carried out four more airstrikes
   against Islamic State militants who were firing on civilians in
   northern Iraq.

   The U.S. Central Command said Saturday's strikes involved jet fighters
   and drones and targeted armored carriers and a truck.  It described the
   strikes near Sinjar as successful.

   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is "deeply concerned" about
   the evolving humanitarian and security situation in Iraq.  The U.N.
   chief called for "reason and wisdom to prevail."  He urged all Iraqi
   leaders "to form a broad-based government that is acceptable to all
   components of Iraqi society."

   U.S. President Barack Obama said Saturday  the U.S. military's
   airstrikes in Iraq have successfully destroyed arms and equipment that
   Islamic State militants could have used against Irbil.  He said the
   problem posed by the group will not be solved in weeks and is going to
   take some time.

   Obama said the leaders of both Britain and France have agreed to join
   the United States in providing help to the refugees.

   The International Organization for Migration says the number of
   internally displaced people in Iraq is now over 1 million.

   Islamic State extremists, most of whom are Sunni Muslims, have captured
   significant amounts of military hardware that U.S. troops turned over
   to Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters
   before the U.S. military withdrawal in 2011.  The Islamic State group,
   known for particularly brutal tactics, currently controls a large swath
   of eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq.  It has declared the area a
   "caliphate," and is actively recruiting other fighters to join the
   group.

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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-continues-humanitarian-aid-to-iraq
   i-refugees/2408636.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-continues-humanitarian-aid-to-iraqi-refugees/2408636.html