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Podcasts Take Two
US begins targeted airstrikes in Iraq
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Aug 8, 2014
Listen • 6:35
US begins targeted airstrikes in Iraq
In Iraq today, American warplanes hit an artillery battery which was being used by Sunni militant forces to shell the northern town of Erbil.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 7: U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the State Dining Room of the White House on August 7, 2014 in Washington, DC. Obama announced he has authorized military strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and a humanitarian aid drop. ISIS has been advancing on the important city of Erbil, Iraq and a civilian humanitarian crisis has developed. (Photo by Mike Theiler-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 7: U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the State Dining Room of the White House on August 7, 2014 in Washington, DC. Obama announced he has authorized military strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and a humanitarian aid drop. ISIS has been advancing on the important city of Erbil, Iraq and a civilian humanitarian crisis has developed. (Photo by Mike Theiler-Pool/Getty Images)
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Pool/Getty Images
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In Iraq today, American warplanes hit an artillery battery which was being used by Sunni militant forces to shell the northern town of Erbil.

In Iraq today, American warplanes hit an artillery battery which was being used by Sunni militant forces to shell the northern town of Erbil.

President Obama announced that he had authorized the use of force to protect U.S. personnel in Erbil in a speech yesterday. He also said the U.S. would use airpower if it was necessary to protect tens of thousands of Yazidis who are surrounded by ISIL militants in northern Iraq.   

The BBC's Reda El Mawy joins Take Two for more on the current situation in Iraq.