WASHINGTON
The U.S. Defense Department announced that the U.S. military conducted coordinated airstrikes against the Islamic State militants in the vicinity of the Haditha Dam in Anbar province late Saturday.
"At the request of the Government of Iraq, we conducted these strikes to prevent terrorists from further threatening the security of the dam, which remains under the control of Iraqi Security Forces, with support from Sunni tribes,” the Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement.
Kirby also said they would continue to conduct operations as needed in support of the Iraqi Security Forces and the Sunni tribes, working with those forces to secure the Haditha Dam.
"The potential loss of control of the dam or a catastrophic failure of the dam -- and the flooding that might result -- could threaten U.S. personnel and facilities in and around Baghdad, as well as thousands of Iraqi citizens," he added.
Moreover, at least 42 Islamic State militants have been killed during the U.S. airstrikes supported by the Iraqi army in Ramadi city and the Bervana town of Anbar province, according to Iraqi army's Anbar operation commander, Lt Gen Rashid Falih. Sabah Kehut, president of Anbar County Council, also confirmed the killing of 42 IS militants in the province.
The IS-led chaos has so far displaced an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis from their homes, and has mainly targeted Shiite Muslims, Turkmen, Ezidis, and Christians. The group have captured swaths of land in Iraq and Syria, declaring a caliphate.
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