Obama Warning : Iraq strikes continue against Isis

Barack Obama has committed the US to long-term connection in Iraq, warning that the rapidly evolving crisis in the north would not be solved quickly. 

US aircraft have targeted armored vehicles and militant positions in a second day of strikes against Islamic State forces. A mix of US fighters and drones attacked and destroyed armoured personnel carriers after Yazidi civilians near Sinjar came under attack from the vehicles, US central command said.

 US forces "successfully [conducted] four air strikes to protect Yazidi civilians being indiscriminately attacked" near Sinjar, said a statement from the United States Central Command (Centcom), which covers the Middle East. In the first strike "a mix of US fighters and remotely piloted aircraft struck one of two Isil armored personnel carriers firing on Yazidi civilians near Sinjar", the statement said. 

After following the remaining vehicle a second pair of strikes, around 20 minutes later, hit two more armored personnel carriers and an armed truck. A fourth struck another armored personnel carrier, also in the Sinjar area. Along this, the US-led air operation to deliver relief to civilians fleeing Isis continued with a third drop of supplies taking place on Saturday night. The US military said the latest air drop involved planes from multiple air bases and included one C-17 and two C-130 cargo planes supported by fighter planes. The aircraft delivered 72 bundles of supplies, including more than 3,800 gallons of water and more than 16,000 packaged meals. 

After taking in up to 1.2 million refugees since mid-June, the Kurds of northern Iraq are urging Obama not to let up in air strikes against Isis, which on Friday was only 50km from Irbil and advancing east towards the Kurdish capital. At least four US air strikes appear to have slowed the momentum of the jihadists, Kurdish peshmerga forces said on Saturday. Officials in Irbil, including Iraq's former foreign minister Hoshyer Zebari, a Kurd who quit his national post in June, urged Obama to continue the strikes. He described the attacks as "a critical decision for Kurdistan, Iraq, and the entire region ... intended to degrade the terrorists' capabilities and achieve strategic gains that have been very effective".