New US airstrikes in Iraq despite jihadists' threat
Cairo/Washington - US warplanes Thursday bombarded militant Islamist State targets in northern Iraq despite the terrorist group's threat to kill a captured American journalist.
The US military conducted six airstrikes against the al-Qaeda breakaway group near the Mosul Dam, destroying vehicles and bomb emplacements, the Defence Department said.
The latest hits have brought the total number of airstrikes to 90 since the US started its aerial campaign in Iraq on August 8.
At least 35 Islamic State fighters were killed in a US airstrike in the northern province of Nineveh, a local security official told independent Iraqi site Alsumaria News.
US airstrikes have slowed the Islamic State's progress in Iraq, but the US exepects them to regroup and stage new offenses, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said.
US military efforts in Iraq would continue, Hagel said.
"We are pursuing a long-term strategy because ISIL clearly poses a long-term threat," he told reporters at the Pentagon.
Bu the noted US objectives remain clear and limited and that Iraq must address its political issues in order to defeat the extremists.
AFP
