(
Xinhua) 08:41, August 11, 2014
Email|
Print|
Comments twitter facebook Sina Microblog reddit ARBIL, Iraq, Aug. 10 -- Kurdish forces retook two towns from the Islamic State (IS)militants in northern Iraq on Sunday as the U.S. military continued to launch airstrikesagainst targets of the extremist group, local media reported.
"The (Kurdish) Peshmerga forces and counter-terrorism team in cooperation with theKurdistan Workers' Party seized full control of Makhmour district," local Kurdish medianews website quoted a Kurdish anti-terrorism commander as saying.
The Peshmerga troops also seized control of Gwer, some 40 km southwest of Arbil, capitalof Iraq's Kurdish region, after they defeated the IS insurgents earlier on Sunday, thereport said.
Gwer and Makhmour had been taken by the IS militants days earlier this week, posing animminent threat to the Kurdish capital.
The U.S. military on Saturday continued to launch four airstrikes against the extremistSunni militants, who were previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant(ISIL), in northern Iraq, U.S. Department of Defense said via its official Twitter account.
The first strike, carried out by a mix of U.S. fighters and remotely piloted aircraft,destroyed an armored personnel carrier (APC) of IS that was firing on Yazidi civilianstrapped on Mount Sinjar.
U.S. aircraft launched two more strikes that destroyed two IS APCs and an armed trucknearby, the U.S. central command said, adding that U.S. aircraft destroyed another APC inthe area of Sinjar in a fourth strike.
U.S. President Barack Obama said earlier Saturday that the targeted airstrikes in Iraqcould continue for some time, but refused to give a particular timetable, saying "I don'tthink we are going to solve this problem in weeks."
He warned that the new campaign to bring security in Iraq requires military and politicalchanges and "is going to be a long- term project." But he made clear that his administrationwould not send ground troops back to Iraq.
Iraq has been plagued with violence for years since the U.S.- led occupation of the country,but the situation has deteriorated dramatically with the spillover of violence from theraging conflict in neighboring Syria. The al-Qaida-linked IS, a regional armed Islamistmilitia fighting in Syria, has gained significant ground in Iraq, especially in the Sunni areas.Over recent days, the IS militants stormed towns in the northern part of Iraq in itsadvances to other parts of the country.
(Editor:Du Mingming、Gao Yinan)
Related reading
Turmoil in Iraq 'certain to affect China oil prices'Up to 275 U.S. forces deploying to Iraq, Obama saysWHO responds to worsened humanitarian situation in IraqISIL jihadists execute dozens of captivesWe RecommendSophomore sells fruit through WeChat in ShandongBlockbuster? No, it’s firefighters’ postersForeign students' colorful life in ChinaFrench photographer‘s work 'China 2050' goes viral onlineDressed in uniforms to marry youFemale soldier in Chinese special forceZhujiang ambassadors attend lotus lanterns activityFrom girly girl to tough special police officerName:
