US President Barack Obama has announced that he is sending 300 military advisers to Iraq to help local forces fight the militants. Addressing a press conference in Washington, Mr Obama said the United States is ready for targeted and precise military action against Islamists in Iraq, if and when the situation on the ground requires.
Our West Asia correspondent reports that in the first clear indication that the US is open for a targeted and precise military action against jihadist militants in Iraq, President Obama said he is prepared for such an eventuality. He said that American combat troops are not going to be fighting on the ground in Iraq again. President Obama also emphasized the need for a political solution to the crisis in Iraq. He urged the Iraqi Government to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift.
In the meantime, US has begun flying F-18 attack aircraft from the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush on missions over Iraq to conduct surveillance of the insurgents. The carrier moved into the Persian gulf close to Iraq a week ago.
Meanwhile , New Delhi has said the Iraqi government has provided information about the location of the abducted 40 Indian workers. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi last evening, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin refused to share information related to the location. Mr Akbaruddin said, the Indian Embassy in Baghdad has been persistently following the matter with the Iraqi authorities.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has assured the family members of the abducted Indians in Iraq that her government will leave no stone unturned for their safe release. A delegation of 24 relatives of the abducted Indians led by Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal met Mrs Swaraj in New Delhi yesterday.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Ms. Swaraj said that the government is in contact with every organization possible to help in its efforts for early rescue of Indian nationals in Iraq. She said, there are in all 120 Indians in the violence-hit areas including those kidnapped. The minister also said that all the Indian nurses who are stranded in Tikrit town in Iraq are safe.
