Iraq Asks For US Airstrikes To Combat ISIS

Iraq's government has asked the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed the request on Wednesday, as Barack Obama prepares to brief lawmakers on what options Washington could pursue.

When asked whether the US should honour that request, Gen Dempsey said: "It is in our national security interest to counter ISIL wherever we find them."

A car bomb in a mainly Shi'ite district of Baghdad killed at least seven

Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari said: "Iraq has officially asked Washington to help under the security agreement (between the two countries), and to conduct air strikes against terrorist groups."

But he added: "A military approach will not be enough. We acknowledge the need for drastic political solutions."

US officials said on Tuesday Mr Obama is not expected to approve immediate airstrikes, partly because there are few clear targets.

Claims made by ISIS in its 2013 annual report

Iraq's prime minister Nouri al Maliki has said his forces are "striking back" after a "shock" defeat at the hands of Sunni militants in the country's north, where fighters have taken swathes of territory.

Mr Maliki's address came as insurgents were seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they had taken over three-quarters of the oil refinery.

Smoke was seen billowing from the Baiji complex, Iraq's biggest, as an official told Reuters it had been infiltrated by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants - potentially giving them control of the energy supply in northern Iraq.

Volunteers to fight the insurgency take a training session in Kerbala

But chief military spokesman Lieutenant General Qassim al Mousssawi said government forces had repelled an attack and killed 40 fighters, although this has not been verified.

The attack on Baiji follows the revelation that ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report.

The 2013 version claims 10,000 operations in Iraq, including 1,000 assassinations and 4,000 improvised explosive devices planted.

An Iraqi boy joins a Shi'ite tribe preparing to fight the militants

Other claims in the 2013 report include the freeing of hundreds of radical prisoners - and hundreds of "apostates" being turned.

As ISIS continued its move towards Baghdad, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned "the great Iranian people will do everything to protect" revered Shia shrines in Iraq from Sunni militants - the clearest indication yet that Tehran is prepared to mobilise.

Mr Rouhani's chief of staff, Mohammad Nahavandian, said Iran could work with the US on Iraq if talks about its nuclear programme are successful.

Kurdish security forces in training in Irbil

The announcement came as David Cameron warned that if Britain did not intervene, terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Mr Maliki's pledge to strike back against ISIS appears set to begin with the "liberation" of the strategic northern Shia town of Tal Afar, which a security spokesman said would be completed by Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, Kurdish forces in the northern towns of Saadiya and Jalula began a counter offensive against ISIS.

The Indian government has confirmed that 40 construction workers have been seized near Mosul.

Turkish diplomats are investigating reports 60 foreign construction workers, including some 15 Turks, near Kirkuk.

Some international oil companies have confirmed the evacuation of foreign workers.

The head of Iraq's southern oil company, Dhiya Jaffar, said Exxon Mobil had carried out a major evacuation, while BP had pulled out 20% of its staff.

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