US Considering Airstrikes or Airdrops in Iraq

Washington (PNA/Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama is considering airstrikes or airdrops of food and medicine to help Iraqis trapped in a mountain by Islamic militants, U.S. media reported on Thursday.

As many as 40,000 religious minorities in Iraq have been dying of heat and thirst on a mountaintop following death threats from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), The New York Times reported.

Obama has been weighing a series of options ranging from dropping humanitarian supplies on Mount Sinjar to military strikes on the fighters from ISIS now at the base of the mountain, the newspaper quoted a senior administration official as saying.

On Thursday, the White House declined to confirm whether Obama is weighing any military options.

“I’m not in a position to rule things on the table or off the table,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a press briefing.

The spokesman reiterated that there would be no American combat troops in Iraq and that any military action would be extremely limited. (PNA/Xinhua) JBP/JSD