US Sends Third Airdrop Of Supplies To Iraq

Islamic State group militants and tribal fighters take down Kurdish flags from the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Christian village of Bartella, northern Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Lat... Islamic State group militants and tribal fighters take down Kurdish flags from the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Christian village of Bartella, northern Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Late Wednesday, militants overran a cluster of predominantly Christian villages alongside the country's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, sending tens of thousands of civilians and Kurdish fighters fleeing from the area, several priests in northern Iraq said Thursday. The KDP is led by Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region. (AP Photo) MORE LESS
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has dropped food and water for a third time to thousands of Iraqi refugees stranded on Mount Sinjar.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday night that the latest airdrop involved planes from multiple air bases and included one C-17 and two C-130 cargo planes. Fighter aircraft flew in support of the airdrop.

Officials say the aircraft delivered 72 bundles of supplies, including more than 3,800 gallons of water and more than 16,000 meals.

Earlier Saturday, U.S. officials said that American fighter jets conducted four airstrikes against Iraqi militants firing on civilians in the Sinjar area.

Central Command says the U.S. military will continue to work with the State Department, the Iraqi government, the United Nations and others to assess the need for additional humanitarian aid.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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