U.S. military aircraft dropped a second air drop of humanitarian aid to Iraqis under threat from hardline militants in northern Iraq for the second straight night, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Three planes dropped 72 bundles of supplies for the refugees, according to Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby, who spoke from New Delhi. Included in the aid were more than 28,000 meals and more than 1,500 gallons of water. Members of the Yazidi religious minority have been trapped for days by Islamic State militants and fear they will be slaughtered if they leave the mountains.
'This airdrop was conducted from multiple airbases within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility and as with last night, included one C-17 and two C-130 cargo aircraft that together dropped a total of 72 bundles of supplies,' the Pentagon said in a statement released late on Friday.
The cargo planes were accompanied by two F-18 fighter jets from the USS George H.W. Bush, a U.S. aircraft carrier positioned in the Gulf, it said. The supplies included U.S. military rations and drinking water. The Pentagon also released video of a Thursday-night drop.
In-Depth SOCIAL - Reuters
First published August 8 2014, 8:12 PM
Entities 0 Name: U.S. Count: 4 1 Name: Pentagon Count: 4 2 Name: New Delhi Count: 1 3 Name: Reuters First Count: 1 4 Name: John Kirby Count: 1 5 Name: George H.W. Bush Count: 1 6 Name: Islamic State Count: 1 7 Name: Iraq Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1u9sGqX Title: U.S. airdrops in Iraq hit their target 4 out of 5 times, defense secretary says Description: Initial reports suggest that about 80 percent of the food and water the U.S. military delivered by air to Iraqi civilians on Thursday reached their target, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday, raising the prospect of more deliveries in coming days.
