Kerry pledges U.S. support for Iraq ahead of Obama’s IS speech

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2014 – U.S. military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq, using an attack aircraft to conduct one airstrike yesterday in support of Iraqi Security Forces’ defense of Irbil operations. The strike destroyed one ISIL armed vehicle in the vicinity of Irbil. The aircraft exited the strike area safely.

The strike was conducted under authority to protect U.S. personnel and facilities, support humanitarian efforts, and support Iraqi forces that are acting in furtherance of these objectives.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Baghdad on Wednesday, beginning a tour of the Middle East to build military, political and financial support to defeat Islamic State militants controlling parts of Iraq and Syria.

Secretary Kerry said, “Today President Obama asked me to come here not just to build a coalition, not just to talk to Iraqis about the road forward at the moment, but also to underscore to the people of Iraq that the United States will stand by them in this effort. We stand by Iraq as it continues to build a government that meets the needs of each of Iraq’s diverse communities and we stand by them as they fight to overcome the single greatest threat that their government, their families and their neighbors face today, and that’s ISIL,”

U.S. Central Command has conducted a total of 154 airstrikes across Iraq.

Video by by Reuters