Iraqi jets bomb IS hideouts around Amerli

Iraqi jets bomb IS hideouts around Amerli
Wed Aug 27, 2014 18:37:17

Iraqi fighter jets have targeted several hideouts of the so-called Islamic State terrorists besieging Shia Turkmen town of Amerli, security sources say.

Iraqi security officials said on Wednesday that the warplanes carried out nine air strikes against the militants surrounding the volatile town in the northern Salahuddin Province.

The residents of this small Shia Turkmen town about 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad have been living under the IS siege for more than two months. Figures show some 12,000 Turkmens are trapped in the town with food, water and medical supplies running out.

UN Iraq envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, has warned that Shia residents of Amerli could be massacred if urgent action is not taken to rescue them.

International organizations have also warned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the troubled region.

“The people are still besieged and stranded there,” said Eliana Nabaa, the spokeswoman for the UN mission in Iraq.

Western media reports say US President Barack Obama is nearing a decision to authorize air raids and aid drops in the area.

The IS terrorists have threatened various communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Izadi Kurds, during their advances in Iraq.

They have been committing heinous crimes in the areas they have taken, including the mass execution of civilians as well as Iraqi army troops and officers.

Several gruesome video footages were released, purportedly showing members of the IS Takfiri terror group brutally killing Shia Muslims in drive-by shootings in Iraq.

The terrorist group has links with Saudi intelligence and is believed to be indirectly supported by the Israeli regime.

HH/HH

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