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Updated 11.08 pm
THE UNITED STATES has launched an air strike against Islamic State militants in Iraq.
US President Barack Obama had earlier ordered US warplanes back into the skies over the country to drop food to refugees and, if necessary, launch air strikes to halt what he said was a potential “genocide.”
The warplanes have now launched their first strike on the Islamic extremists according to the Pentagon’s press secretary who made the announcement on twitter.
Rear admiral John Kirby said the attack targeted artillery that was used against Kurdish forces.
Extremists
The US air armada’s first mission was to drop food and water to thousands of members of the Yazidi religious minority besieged by Sunni extremist fighters from the so-called Islamic State.
But Obama warned that he had also authorised the military to carry out targeted strikes in support of Iraqi forces to break the Islamists’ advance or to protect US advisors working on the ground.
The president said US warplanes could also target Islamic State militants if they advance on the city of Arbil, where the US has a diplomatic presence and advisors to Iraqi forces.
“We plan to stand vigilant and take action if they threaten our facilities anywhere in Iraq, including the consulate in Arbil and embassy in Baghdad,” he said.
A senior US defence official confirmed the mission had already dropped “critical meals and water for thousands of Iraqi citizens,” Yazidis trapped in the open on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq.
Obama said there were perhaps tens of thousands of civilian refugees, and he accused the IS of attempting “the systematic destruction of the entire people, which would constitute genocide.”
The president admitted the United States can not act every time it sees injustice, but insisted: “We can act, carefully and responsibly to prevent a potential act of genocide.
“That’s what we’re doing on that mountain. I therefore authorized targeted air strikes if necessary to help forces in Iraq as they fight to break the siege and protect the civilians trapped there,” he added.
Despite this note of determination, Obama was at pains to assure war weary Americans that he — the president who withdrew US forces from Iraq — was not about to get “dragged into fighting another war.”
“American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq, because there is no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq,” he promised.
Earlier, in New York, the United Nations Security Council urged world powers “to support the government and the people of Iraq and to do all it can to help alleviate the suffering of the population.”
Iraqi Ambassador Ali al-Hakim said the meeting focused on the need for urgent relief efforts to help civilians fleeing the violence, and denied reports that air strikes had also been carried out.
Separately, French President Francois Hollande’s office said “France was available to support forces engaged in this battle.”
Mountain siege
Obama came to office determined to end US military involvement in Iraq and in his first term oversaw the withdrawal of the huge ground force deployed there since the 2003 American invasion.
But recent rapid gains by the Islamic State, a successor group to Al-Qaeda’s former Iraqi and Syrian operations, compelled him to send military advisors back to Baghdad to evaluate the situation.
The Sunni extremists, along with other Sunni factions, are at war with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s mainly Shiite government forces and with the peshmerga forces of the Kurdish autonomous region of the country.
In late June, IS proclaimed a “caliphate” straddling rebel-held areas of Syria and Iraq and seized the major city of Mosul. In recent days, it has seized towns formerly populated by Christians and Yazidis.
Iraqi religious leaders say Islamic State militants have forced 100,000 Iraqi Christians to flee and have occupied churches, removing crosses and destroying manuscripts.
“Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella and Karamlesh have been emptied of their original population and are now under the control of the militants,” Joseph Thomas, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah, told AFP.
Entirely Christian Qaraqosh lies between Mosul, the jihadists’ main hub in Iraq, and Arbil, the Kurdish region’s capital. It usually has a population of around 50,000.
Tal Kayf, the home of a significant Christian community as well as members of the Shabak Shiite minority, also emptied overnight.
100,000 Christians flee
“I heard some gunshots last night and, when I looked outside, I saw a military convoy from the Islamic State… shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’,” said Boutros Sargon, a refugee who was reached by phone in Arbil.
Meanwhile, several thousand Yazidis, members of an ancient pre-Muslim religious minority, are stranded on high ground after being driven out of their home town of Sinjar by IS fighters.
Fares Sinjari Abu Ivan, a Yazidi beekeeper who fled with his 80-year-old mother to the barren mountains, told AFP by phone that some groups had attempted to flee but experienced mixed fortunes.
“We have spoken to some who made it to Turkey but in their flight, they encountered Daash (Islamic State) fighters who cut the road. Some fled, some were killed and others came back to the mountain.”
Turkish officials said up to 800 displaced Sinjaris made their own way to Turkey, while the PKK Kurdish separatist group said it had evacuated several families after opening a safe passage to Syria.
The Islamic State boasted of its latest victories, declaring: “We are pleased to announce to the Islamic nation a new liberation in Nineveh province, teaching the secular Kurds a lesson.”
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Great news story, a lovely read for a Friday :-)
Fair play to them.
who would thumbs down that comment, wankers!
Fair play lads, I wish you much success.
Thats the sort of innovation Ireland needs.
Congrats to @patrickc and brother John Collison @collision on latest $18m funding!
Delighted to see these two brothers getting on so well.I am sure they will go far. Fair dews to them.
Fair dues
I stand corrected
They deserve it. Their main product has removed one of the last barriers to market for anyone setting up a new business or wanting to operate a small business. Brillant.
Spot on Peter.
Couldn’t be happier about this. Great people, great product, great investment.
Really amazing entrepreneurial spirit but wish it could have been further developed in Ireland rather than California :)
Why can’t we make it attractive for guys like that to start up/ keep their business in Ireland . What are the politicians doing??
I dont think it can be entirely blamed on politicians..I dont think Ireland has the same startup environment that california has…and I think its a lot to do with our attitude towards entrepreneurs…and lack of VC funding perhaps..I think to imitate an environment like california, Ireland needs a spark, and for lots of people to take risks, both on their own ideas and on other peolpes…and also to think big, these guys obviously have done that but id say they are one of very few in Ireland. Maybe the draw of having like minded people around is what took them to the US?
First time I’ve ever seen a story on the Journal without a single “thumbs down” good work lads.
of course just as I send my comment…………ah well, still a great story
Great news hope it goes well for the young men,best of luck,it’s what Ireland needs at these times
Chris money doesn’t buy genius it’s fairly obvious these boys are something special really proud of them all do I don’t know them
Congratulations to them ! It’s a shame they couldn’t be incorporated in Ireland and employ Irish people, but the truth of the matter is that our universities are not producing graduates of the calibre required to start a tech company and guide it to success .
A corollary to that is the total funding vacuum that exists for tech startups in Ireland , whether it is venture or angel investment. Enterprise Ireland lack the domain knowledge required – a software startup costs peanuts to fund initially ; most of the cost goes on rent and food but EI and their ilk want to give you way more money than you need in exchange for way more equity than you want to give away, on top of ridiculous conditions like needing to hire a minimum number of people and spend a minimum amount which you will then be reimbursed for.
We will never have a so called smart economy if this doesn’t change and we will continue to produce mickey mouse companies that turn a tiny profit and hire a tiny amount of staff.
I don’t agree 100% with the calibre of graduates in Ireland. i think that the problem is more so the numbers of people doing IT/science subjects. There are some pretty smart people coming out of some pretty good courses at the moment but nowhere near enough.
Very well said Eric. The government should make it easier for the existing it contract development community to setup business and go it alone. I have 12 years experience lots of good ideas but I can’t take s year off ti try something without
Free office rent
A grant of about 45 k a year
And free access to broad band and hardware
Give me that enda and in 5 years I would employ at least 5 if not mire people
The thumbs down on the site is getting a bit ridiculous.
@ Chris Gardner – Your very much mistaken these guys went to a public school in Limerick, if their parents wanted elite education for them they could have sent them to Glenstal not far away. The only downfall with this type of talent in Ireland is that we don’t know how to nurture them past the R&D stage. These guys are in the mould of Gates & Zuckerberg,just a shame we couldn’t keep them but the v best of luck to them.
These Brothers while they deserve their hard work it must be pointed out that they came from an enormously priveleged family with basically unlimited resources. They were destined to do well getting every and all help along the way. Not the story of the vast majority of irish young men. As I said I am thrilled they are doing well but I and millions like me never had these priveleges growing or resources. Its a pity all Irish school goers do not get the same equalities and indeed come to school facing enormous disadvantages, We won’t be reading about them anytime soon.
Well done lads.
There should be a http://www.coderdojo.com in every town/village in the country! Time to ditch fable studies and get programming languages into schools!
OMG lads yis are a legend, well done, I’m as proud of you both as if I were your mother! Wonderful…
They’re set up for life then! Well done to them!
Congratulations to you both
The very highest levels of protection must be provided for intellectual property such as this for the most obvious of reasons. I’m certain that the naysayers and petty critics who believe that it’s acceptable practice to thieve from owners of such valuable property will slink to the sidelines while these young lads bask in well deserved glory.
Fantastic achievement lads…well done!
Your welcome Palo Alto, California.
“You’re welcome” dummy
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