U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Bickerstaf uses a tent pole to bat a rock off the Haditha Dam in this 2005 file photo. The U.S. military launched airstrikes Sunday around Haditha Dam in western Iraq, targeting Islamic State insurgents there for the first time in a move to prevent the group from capturing the vital dam.TBILISI, Georgia – The U.S. military said Sunday it launched airstrikes around Haditha Dam in western Iraq, targeting Islamic State insurgents there for the first time in a move to prevent the group from capturing the vital dam.
The strikes represented a broadening of the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State militants, moving the military operations closer to the border of Syria, where the group also has been operating.
Speaking in Georgia where he’s meeting with government and defense officials, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that if the dam were to fall into the militant’s hands “or if that dam would be destroyed, the damage that that would cause would be very significant and it would put a significant additional and big risk into the mix in Iraq” including U.S. interests there.
At the same time, however, Hagel rejected the suggestion that the Haditha strikes opened up a new front in the war against the Islamic State group or that it represented an escalation of the U.S. military operations. He spoke at a press conference with Georgia Defense Minister Irakli Alasania.
Alasania, meanwhile, said Georgia expects to provide some assistance in the campaign against the Islamic State, saying that training and carrying out military exercises with the Iraqi forces are “things that come to our mind.” He said Georgia can play a supporting role and there are plans to discuss the matter further.