The US has dropped relief supplies to thousands of Iraqis hiding in a mountainous area from Islamist militants who had ordered them to convert or die.<br /><br />The move comes as the United States carried out fresh attacks on fighters from the Islamic State, who have advanced within a half an hour of Irbil, Iraq’s Kurdish capital. The city is a hub for US oil companies. <br /><br />The Sunni militants, who also control a third of neighbouring Syria, have taken control of several cities as well as the country’s largest dam.<br /><br />It’s been reported that the Iraqi government has provided arms to Kurdish fighters in an unprecedented act of cooperation between Baghdad and Arbil.<br /><br />“This is not a classical war. This is not a frontal war with a regular army. They are attacking with small numbers, with mobile forces, with speed. They are not holding territory,” said Hoshiar Mahmoud al-Zibari, Iraq’s Foreign Minister.<br /><br />The Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, have reportedly said the US strikes would have “no impact” on them.<br /><br />The group led by led by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, have used savage violence during their advancement through Iraq, beheading and crucifying captives in their mission to eradicate the country of unbelievers. <br /><br />The United States has said the strikes, the first in Iraq since 2011, would last as long as the security situation required.
