US commander, Iraqi minister address media скачать в хорошем качестве

US commander, Iraqi minister address media

(9 Mar 2015) The top US military official said on Monday said that the US-led coalition was being careful in its use of air power against the Islamic State group in order to avoid civilian casualties. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the US does not want to create additional suffering as it targets IS militants in Iraq. He was speaking at a news conference in Baghdad with Iraqi Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi. Dempsey was asked at the news conference if the US would use air power to protect Iraqi antiquities from destruction by Islamic State. "We will consider it, but it has to fit into the priority of all the other things we are being asked to do on behalf of Iraq." "Military campaigns are all about priorities. The protection of the Mosul Dam, so there is not a humanitarian disaster, the protection of the Hadith Dam, the protection of our bases and your capital, protecting the Iraqi security forces on offensive operations, restoring your sovereign border," he added. Dempsey also met with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and senior US officials during his brief visit. At an earlier joint news conference, Al-Obeidi said his government was comfortable asking for and receiving help from Shiite-led Iran, a major US adversary and an enemy of key US allies in the Gulf, in its fight against Islamic State militants. Iraq has been relying on military assistance from both the US and Iran in its struggle against Islamic State extremists who have captured control of about one-third of Iraq and Syria. Kurdish peshmerga forces meanwhile said they cleared a 100-square kilometre (40-square mile) area south and west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, securing a section of the main road that leads to the militant-held city of Mosul. The two-pronged ground offensive was supported by coalition airstrikes, the Kurdish Regional Security Council said Monday. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...