US aid drop follows fresh Iraq raids

9 August 2014 Last updated at 10:11

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The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan: "As Islamic State continues to make key strategic gains, the question remains: How long will military action last?"

The US has conducted its second air-drop of food and water to thousands of Iraqis hiding in mountains from jihadist fighters, the Pentagon says.

It came hours after the US launched fresh air strikes against militants from the Islamic State (IS).

The group had recently made fresh gains in northern Iraq and is threatening the Kurdish city of Irbil.

The US is also piling pressure on Iraqi leaders to form a unity government capable of dealing with the jihadists.

IS, a jihadist group formerly known as Isis, has taken control of swathes of Iraq and Syria and has also seized Iraq's largest dam.

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Bundles of water were included in the US air-drop over the mountains of Sinjar

Analysis by BBC Washington correspondent David Willis

President Barack Obama hasn't set a timetable for the current intervention and White House spokesman Josh Earnest said simply that the length of the campaign would be determined by events on the ground.

He said that, ultimately, a solution to the current violence rests with the formation of an Iraqi government that is representative of all the Iraqi people. Yet the course of this engagement is difficult to predict.

White House officials concede they are concerned about the Islamic State fighters' proficiency - they are said to be well armed and well trained - hence it remains to be seen whether air strikes will be effective.

All of which raises the prospect of "mission creep" if the current campaign doesn't halt their advance.

PJ Crowley on Obama's reframing of the "war on terror"

In a statement, the Pentagon said the latest air-drop involved one C-17 and two C-130 cargo planes that together dispersed a total of 72 bundles of supplies.

The cargo aircraft were escorted by two F/A-18s from the aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush, it added.

The aid was dropped into the mountains around the town of Sinjar, where up to 50,000 members of the Yazidi religious sect fled an IS advance a week ago.

IS fighters also seized Qaraqosh, Iraq's biggest Christian town this week, causing thousands more to flee.

The first US air strike on Friday saw two 500lb (227kg) bombs dropped on IS artillery being used against forces defending Irbil.

Late on Friday, the Pentagon confirmed a second wave of attacks.

It said drones and fighter jets attacked a mortar position and a seven-vehicle convoy carrying fighters also threatening Irbil.

Continue reading the main story

• 2,200 Calories in each daily pack for one person

• 2 main courses such as lentil stew or beans with rice

• 2 or more carbohydrate snacks such as crackers or flat bread

• 2 sachets of high calorie spreads: usually peanut butter and jam

• Also raisins and/or fruit bar/pastry, condiments, alcohol-free wipe, spoon

Ameriqual

IS remained defiant. One fighter told Reuters that the strikes would have "no impact on us".

"The planes attack positions they think are strategic but this is not how we operate. We are trained for guerrilla street war," he said.

The air strikes are the first time US forces have been directly involved in a military operation in Iraq since American troops withdrew in late 2011.

Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the US state department, said the immediate goal of the strikes was to "prevent the advance" of IS towards the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, Irbil, where US military personnel and diplomats are based.

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The United States has carried out air strikes on Islamist militants in Iraq, as James Robbins reports

UK government sources told the BBC the air strikes were entirely "a US operation" and the UK was currently focused on helping humanitarian efforts.

While future participation in air strikes had not be ruled out, it had not been discussed by the UK government's emergency committee Cobra on Friday, and would not be over the weekend, the sources said.

Former US diplomat Peter Galbraith, who has worked as an adviser to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), told the BBC the US air strikes would give the Kurds "a lot of confidence".

"It also enables them to redeploy their forces," he said. "They don't have to concentrate so much to defend the capital."

Unity government

Although the Iraqi government and the KRG have been at odds for months, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki sent a plane load of ammunition to Irbil on Friday, Reuters reported.

Mr Maliki had previously ordered the air force to support Kurdish fighters in their fight against IS.

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Ali Herfot, who fled to the Sinjar mountains, says he is worried and frightened

The White House said Vice-President Joe Biden had called Iraqi President Fouad Massoum on Friday and emphasised the need for an Iraqi unity government that could diminish the threat posed by jihadists.

In June, Mr Maliki rejected calls for a national salvation government to help counter the IS offensive.

He has faced calls from Sunni Arab, Kurdish and some fellow Shia Arab leaders to step down because of his handling of the crisis.

However, as leader of the bloc that won the most seats in April's parliamentary elections, he has demanded the right to attempt to form a governing coalition.

Iraq's human rights ministry says the militants have seized hundreds of Yazidi women.

Ministry spokesman Kamil Amin said some were being held in schools in Iraq's second largest city Mosul.

Iraq's minorities

Christians

• The majority are Chaldeans, part of the Catholic Church
• Numbers have fallen from around 1.5 million since the US-led invasion in 2003 to 350,000-450,000
• In Nineveh, they live mainly in towns such as Qaraqosh (also known as Baghdida), Bartella, Al-Hamdaniya and Tel Kef

Yazidis

• Secretive group whose origins and ethnicity are subject to continuing debate
• Religion incorporates elements of many faiths, including Zoroastrianism
• Many Muslims and other groups view Yazidis as devil worshippers
• There are estimated to be around 500,000 Yazidis worldwide, most living in Iraq's Nineveh plains

Iraq: The minorities of Nineveh

Who are the Yazidis?

Are you in Northern Iraq? Do you have friends or family in the area? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, including your contact details and using the heading 'Iraq'.

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