IS issue new video warning to Obama
The militant Islamic State group has released a video warning the US that fighters await in Iraq if Barack Obama sends troops there.
The video was released after the US military stepped up its campaign against Islamic State (IS) militants with a series of airstrikes across Iraq and Syria.
The 52-second film, edited in the style of a Hollywood trailer and entitled “Flames of War”, shows militants blowing up tanks, wounded US soldiers and others about to be killed. It then shows a clip of the US president saying that combat troops will not return to Iraq, ending with a text overlay that reads “fighting has just begun”.
It comes after General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee that if current Iraq strategy does not prevail he could recommend the use of ground troops.
US Central Command said earlier today that military forces using fighter aircraft launched two airstrikes north-west of Irbil and hit an armed truck and fighters.
Three other airstrikes south-west of Baghdad hit anti-aircraft artillery, a truck and two boats on the Euphrates River that were resupplying the militants.
The strikes are part of the new broader military mission in Iraq authorised by Mr Obama that began on Monday.
Under the new strategy, US forces are going after IS militants wherever they are. Previously, the strikes were limited to protecting US interests and personnel, assisting Iraqi refugees and securing critical infrastructure in Iraq.
A White House spokesman said the president would not send ground forces into combat, but Gen Dempsey said Mr Obama had personally told him to come back on a “case-by-case basis” if the military situation changed.
“To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president,” Gen Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The four-star general said if Mr Obama’s current approach is not enough to prevail, he might “go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of ground forces”.
