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UK endorses US air strikes against IS fighters

The UK expressed support over the US decision to launch targetted air strikes in Iraq, to stop the advance of Islamic State (IS) fighters towards the city of Erbil in Kurdistan.

Whilst officials said British airstrikes were currently not on the cards, British spy planes will aid US troops in determining the whereabouts of IS fighters, and a RAF aircraft, able to refuel US Fighter jets in mid-air will be deployed, reports The Times.

US war planes Friday bombed, what the Pentagon described as, an Islamic State convoy travelling towards Erbil. The air strikes are the first by the US military in the region since 2011.

A humanitarian effort is also underway by the US and UK to provide aid for tens of thousands of Yadizi refugees stranded on a mountain.

Authorising the air strikes and humanitarian mission, US President Barack Obama said America could not turn a blind eye to the "potential genocide" of the Yadizi people. See more here.

Aid worth £8m was pledged by the UK yesterday, including £2m of emergency supplies to be air dropped to the Yadizi refugees, reports the Guardian.

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