U.S. launches airstrikes around Iraq’s threatened Haditha dam
The United States launched airstrikes around the Haditha Dam in west Iraq on Sunday, in a move aimed at preventing Islamic State insurgents from advancing on one of the country’s key power generators. The set of four strikes, conducted on Saturday and confirmed by the Pentagon, marked the first time that the U.S. has targeted […]The United States launched airstrikes around the Haditha Dam in west Iraq on Sunday, in a move aimed at preventing Islamic State insurgents from advancing on one of the country’s key power generators. The set of four strikes, conducted on Saturday and confirmed by the Pentagon, marked the first time that the U.S. has targeted extremist fighters in the area since the group mounted an offensive to capture the vital dam last month. "At the request of the government of Iraq, U.S. military forces attacked ISIL (an alternative acronym for Islamic State, or IS) terrorists near Haditha in Anbar province in support of Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribes protecting the Haditha dam," the U.S. Central Command confirmed in a statement.