US aircraft hammered militant forces in Iraq Sunday, clearing the way for Kurdish ground troops to secure a critical victory over the Islamic State extremist group.
The 14 airstrikes Sunday near the Mosul Dam damaged key infrastructure for the Islamic State, including 10 armed vehicles, seven Humvees, two armored personnel carriers and one checkpoint, the US Central Command reported Sunday.
Kurdish officials said they recaptured the Mosul Dam Sunday with the support of the US fighter jet, bomber and drone attacks, BBC News reported.
The Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, launched the offensive Sunday, as US and Iraqi airstrikes pushed back the militant fighters.
The dam supplies water and electricity for northern Iraq. The militants seized control of the Mosul Dam Aug. 7, stoking fears of a humanitarian crisis for Iraqi people with the vital resource in the hands of the extremists.
The effort followed nine US airstrikes in Iraq Saturday in an attempt to push back the Islamic State militants.
As the battle in Iraq tipped in favor of American-backed forces Sunday, US lawmakers back home suggested the US and its allies must do more to defeat the radical Islamic State, commonly referred to as ISIS or ISIL.
“Ultimately, we may have some boots on the ground there,” US Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News Sunday, adding that air strikes on Syria could also be needed to control ISIS terrorists.
The White House has maintained it wants a limited humanitarian effort in Iraq and not another war.
On Sunday, President Obama notified Congress he had authorized the “limited” airstrikes starting Friday to retake the dam.
“The failure of the Mosul Dam could threaten the lives of large numbers of civilians, endanger US personnel and facilities, including the US Embassy in Baghdad, and prevent the Iraqi government from providing critical services to the Iraqi populace,” Obama said in his report.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said a handful of members of Congress have been meeting with Obama’s legal team on drafting new authorization for using force in Iraq.
“I think it’s a good sign that President Obama is recognizing the fact that he’s going to need authority to deal with this new asymmetric threat,” Johnson said.
Both Engel and Johnson agreed the US must destroy ISIS before they are capable of committing terrorist attacks on America.
“These are evil people, they need to be defeated,” Johnson said.
With Post Wires