Special to WorldTribune.com

Guy Taylor, Washington Times

U.S. fighter jets have begun pounding artillery held by the Al Qaida-inspired militants in northern Iraq with laser-guided bombs, a senior Defense Department official said Friday.

“At approximately 6:45 a.m. EDT, the U.S. military conducted a targeted airstrike against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists,” Rear Adm. John Kirby, a top Pentagon spokesman said in a statement.

“Two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a mobile artillery piece near Irbil,” Rear Adm. Kirby said. “ISIL was using this artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending Erbil where U.S. personnel are located.” …

Friday’s action came roughly 12 hours after President Obama announced that he had authorized airstrikes against Islamist terrorists in Iraq and approved a humanitarian mission to deliver food and other supplies to tens of thousands of Iraqis trapped on mountaintops — moves that represent the most significant re-engagement in Iraq since formal combat operations ended three years ago.

SEE COMPLETE TEXT

  F/A-18 Super Hornet, Kurdistan with laser-guided bombs, Rear Adm. John Kirby, U.S. strikes ISIL artillery near Irbil