MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) – The US military conducted its fourth airdrop of humanitarian aid for Iraqi residents besieged by Islamic State (IS) militants in the area surrounding Mount Sinjar, a statement issued by the US Central Command said.
“This airdrop was conducted from multiple airbases within the US Central Command area of responsibility and included one C-17 and three C-130 cargo aircraft that together dropped a total of 88 bundles of supplies,” the document issued Sunday reads.
According to the statement, the C-17 plane dropped 3,804 gallons of fresh drinking water, while three C-130 aircraft delivered 22,488 meals and 590 gallons of water.
The US military also said it has already delivered more than 74,000 meals and more than 15,000 gallons of fresh drinking water to the Iraqi refugees.
The Pentagon earlier on Sunday announced that it has conducted a third airdrop of food and water supplies for the members of Yezidi ethnic minority, who are hiding from militants on Mount Sinjar.
On Sunday, British authorities also shipped humanitarian aid for the Iraqi refugees trapped by IS. Due to the unstable security situation in the region, two cargo aircraft carried out the airdrop, which contained mainly food and water.
IS is a Sunni group that has been fighting in Syria and launched an offensive in Iraq in June. The group has taken over large parts of the country, with the goal of seizing Baghdad. Also in June, the group announced the establishment of a caliphate on the Iraq-Syria border.
