U.S. Aircraft Drop Food, Water to Iraqi Civilians

Compiled from U.S. Central Command News Releases

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 11, 2014 – The U.S. military conducted a fourth airdrop of food and water yesterday for thousands of Iraqi citizens threatened by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq.

This airdrop, conducted from multiple air bases in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, included one C-17 and three C-130 cargo aircraft that together dropped a total of 88 bundles of supplies. U.S. fighter aircraft in the area supported the mission.

The C-17 dropped 40 container delivery system bundles of fresh drinking water totaling 3,804 gallons. The three C-130s dropped 48 bundles totaling 22,488 packaged meals and 590 gallons of fresh drinking water.

To date, in coordination with the Iraqi government, U.S. military aircraft have delivered more than 74,000 meals and more than 15,000 gallons of fresh drinking water, to displaced Yezidis seeking refuge from ISIL terrorists.

Meanwhile, U.S. military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Iraq yesterday, successfully conducting multiple airstrikes from a mix of fighters and remotely piloted vehicles to defend Kurdish forces near Erbil, where U.S. personnel and citizens are located:

-- U.S. aircraft struck and destroyed an ISIL armed truck that was firing on Kurdish forces in the approaches to Erbil. After the strike, U.S. forces monitored the movement of a second ISIL armed truck moving away from the vicinity of the strike, subsequently striking and destroying it.

-- U.S aircraft struck and destroyed an ISIL mortar position, destroying it and damaging a nearby ISIL armed truck and later destroyed an ISIL armed truck.

-- In another strike, U.S. aircraft damaged another armed ISIL vehicle.

All aircraft left the strike areas safely, officials said.