Obama orders Airstrike against Islamist group in Iraq

US President Barack Obama says he has authorised air strikes against Islamic militants in northern Iraq but will not send US troops back to the country. He said Islamic State (IS) fighters would be targeted to prevent the slaughter of religious minorities, or if they threaten US interests. Strikes have not yet begun, but the US has made humanitarian air drops to Iraqis under threat from the militants.
IS has seized Qaraqosh, Iraq's biggest Christian town, forcing locals to flee. The Sunni Muslim group, formerly known as Isis, has been gaining ground in northern Iraq and Syria for several months. Islamic State fighters have taken control of large parts of northern Iraq since launching an offensive in June.
Around 50,000 Yazidis are thought to have been trapped on a mountain after fleeing IS fighters. In a rapid advance in June the group took control of the northern city of Mosul and advanced south towards Baghdad.
It now controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria and says it has created an Islamic caliphate in its territory.