http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/u-s-hits-isis-position-near-baghdad-new-phase-strikes-n203886The U.S. carried out an airstrike near Baghdad on Monday in what a defense official described to NBC News as the beginning of intensified action against ISIS militants in Iraq.
U.S. attack aircraft hit an ISIS fighting position southwest of the capital in support of the Iraqi security forces, defense officials said. There was also at least one airstrike near Mount Sinjar in northwestern Iraq, the officials said.
The military has been pounding ISIS targets from the air since Aug. 8. President Barack Obama announced last week that a broader campaign, including the authorization of strikes inside Syria, would seek to "degrade and ultimately destroy" ISIS.
In Iraq, the earlier airstrikes were mainly to protect important sites, like Mosul Dam and the city of Erbil, or to break the seize on Mount Sinjar, where thousands of religious minorities had been trapped by the militants.
The airstrike Monday near Baghdad was more offensive in nature and was not triggered by any advance of ISIS toward the Iraqi capital, the official said.
Secretary of State John Kerry joined leaders from more than 20 countries at a strategy meeting Monday in Paris. Some countries, notably Turkey, have been hesitant to pledge help, but the U.S. insists it will have all the firepower it needs.
— Courtney Kube and Erin McClam
First published September 15th 2014, 5:31 pm
