Iraq conflict: Obama vows to stop jihadist state
US President Barack Obama has said he will not allow jihadists to carve out a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq.
On Friday, the US began launching air strikes on fighters of the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq.
Mr Obama said there would be further air strikes if necessary but no US military operation on the ground.
The UK has sent a plane to join the relief operation on Mt Sinjar, where thousands of members of the Yazidi religious minority are stranded.
A cargo plane left RAF Brize Norton in England carrying humanitarian aid.
The Pentagon earlier said it had carried out a second air drop that included more than 1,500 gallons of water and 28,000 meals.
About 50,000 Yazidis fled into the mountains after IS fighters overran the nearby town of Sinjar a week ago.
"We have one or two days left to help these people. After that they will start dying en masse," Yazidi MP Vian Dakhil told the AFP news agency.bbc
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