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              US Airstrikes, Aid for Besieged Northern Iraqi Town

   by VOA News

   The U.S. Defense Department says the United States has conducted
   airstrikes and dropped humanitarian aid to the Iraqi city of Amerli,
   cut off from receiving food, water and medical supplies for two months
   by Islamic State militants.

   Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement
   the Air Force delivered the aid Saturday alongside aircraft from
   Australia, France and Britain.

   Kirby said the U.S. military conducted coordinated airstrikes against
   nearby Islamic State terrorists to support the humanitarian assistance
   operation.

   Australia joins effort

   Australia said it is joining the international effort to supply weapons
   to the Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State militants.

   Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Sunday the situation in Iraq
   is a "humanitarian catastrophe."  He said Australia will continue to
   work with international partners to "address the security threat" posed
   by the militants.

   Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched a major offensive Saturday aimed at
   liberating the beleaguered northern city of Amerli.

   Sources say the Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters advanced on
   Amerli from four directions.

   Armed fighters in the town of 15,000 residents have not been able to
   defend themselves against Islamic State militants, who view the Shi'ite
   Turkmen population as apostates.

   NATO to consider situation

   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington will use an upcoming
   NATO summit to push for a coalition of countries to fight the Sunni
   extremists.

   Kerry, writing in The New York Times, called the Islamic State
   militancy  a "cancer," and he vowed "it will not be allowed to spread
   to other countries."

   Separately, in comments published early Saturday, Saudi King Abdullah
   warned that Islamic State extremists could target Europe and the United
   States, if the West fails to agree on a strong response to the
   militancy.  Official Saudi media quoted the king as saying the
   "terrorists do not know the name of humanity, and you have witnessed
   them severing heads and giving them to children to walk with in the
   street."

   Public outrage over the beheading of an American journalist and several
   mass executions claimed by militants in nearby Syria has led U.S.
   President Barack Obama to consider strikes on militant targets in
   eastern Syria.

   Kerry said he and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will seek support at
   the September 5 NATO summit in Wales for "the broadest possible
   assistance" in acting against the militancy. The two Americans then
   will visit Middle East capitals to solidify support from countries
   directly threatened by the extremist movement.

   Earlier Saturday near Baghdad, authorities said a suicide bomber
   targeting the Iraqi military killed at least 11 people, including four
   soldiers.

   Officials said the bomber detonated explosives in his car at an army
   checkpoint in Youssifiyah, about 20 kilometers south of the capital. At
   least 24 people were wounded in the attack.

   Some information for this report comes from AP, AFP and Reuters.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/iraq-kurd-forces-advance-on-peshmerga-ameri-kerry-islamic-state/2433561.html