Have U.S. Airstrikes Weakened Islamic State (IS) militants?
U.S. Army Lieutenant General William Mayville, a senior Pentagon official, speaking yesterday at a news briefing in Washington:
"We assess that the U.S. air strikes in northern Iraq have slowed IS's operational tempo and temporarily disrupted their advances toward the province of Irbil. However these strikes are unlikely to affect IS's overall capabilities or its operations in other areas of Iraq and Syria."
"IS remains focused on securing and gaining additional territories throughout Iraq and will sustain these attacks against Iraqi and Kurdish security forces and their positions as well as target Yazidis, Christians and other minorities."
Air Drops
Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) has also been dropping aid in northern Iraq.
Reaction to Abadi’s nomination
Displaced Christians from Mosul, Lala Yousif and Kamal Toma Tony, spoke to Reuters in Irbil after Abadi was asked to form the new government.
Yousif:
"I speak in the name of all the displaced people. We do not want [designated Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi] to follow the same policy as [incumbent Prime Minister Nuri] al-Maliki. We want to see a change in policy and to find a solution to the crisis of the displaced Christians."
Tony:
"I heard that Mr.Haider al-Abadi has been asked to form the government. We are very happy. We hope that the new government will succeed in ending disputes and put an end to sectarianism, because disputes and sectarianism are the main cause of our current ordeal."
US sends food, water, other aid to Iraq
U.S. Central Command has said that it has conducted a fifth airdrop of food and water for the displaced Yazidis. The command said U.S. military aircraft have delivered a total of more than 85,000 meals and more than 75,700 liters of fresh drinking water.
U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah said yesterday that the U.S. has deployed a disaster response team to Iraq to help distribute humanitarian aid.
Stranded Yazidis.
Shortly before Obama spoke about Iraq, U.S. fighter jets completed their fourth strike of the day on IS militants around Mt. Sinjar, where thousands of Yazidis remain trapped. Meanwhile, Iraqi and American helicopters have been rescuing those Iraqis stranded on the mountain.
Abadi Receives Washington’s Support
U.S. President Barack Obama last night said the naming of Haidar al-Abadi as the prime minister-designate was “a promising step.” Obama said that he called Abad to offer support.
"The only lasting solution is for Iraqis to come together and form an inclusive government. This new leadership has a difficult task to regain the confidence of its citizens by governing inclusively and taking steps to demonstrate its resolve."
Maliki has called the selection of Abadi, a member of his party, a violation of the Iraqi constitution carried out with U.S. support.
But Obama said he "pledged our support" to Abadi and called on him "to form a new cabinet as quickly as possible."
Welcome back to our live coverage of the events in Iraq.
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