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Iraqi, Kurdish forces in control of Amerli - Pentagon

WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (KUNA) -- Iraqi and Kurdish forces are in control of the Iraqi township of Amerli, and are providing security needs of the citizens there, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, at the request of the Iraqi government, the US military air-dropped humanitarian aid to Amerli, home to thousands of Shi'a Turkmen who had been cut off from receiving food, water and medical supplies for two months by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Kirby said during a briefing.
The US Air Force delivered the aid along with aircraft from Australia, France and Britain, Kirby noted.
In conjunction with the air-drop, US aircraft conducted coordinated airstrikes against nearby ISIL terrorists in order to support the humanitarian assistance operation, and thereby help facilitate the delivery of the aid, Kirby said.
"While we continue to monitor the situation in Amerli, at this time we assess that Iraqi and Kurdish forces are in control of the township and are providing for the security needs of the citizens there," he said. "So further strikes remain a possibility, of course, but we believe that the township is under the control of Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
"As we said before, one of our core military objectives in Iraq is to join with international partners to address humanitarian crises, and where and when we have the ability to do that, we are going to do it," he added. (end) rm.bs