MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti) – UK Royal Air Force (RAF) planes have made a second drop of humanitarian aid to Iraqis stranded by Islamic State militants atop Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq, the UK Department for International Development said in a press release Tuesday.
“Last night the RAF successfully made a second drop of essential supplies, including 3,180 reusable containers filled with clean water,” said UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening, as quoted in the document, adding that the current humanitarian situation in the area is “deeply worrying.”
According to the press release, the aid drop also contained 816 solar lamps, which can be used to charge mobile phones.
The first humanitarian aid drop by the RAF was conducted on Saturday, delivering 1,200 reusable water containers with 6,000 liters of water and 240 solar lamps.
Earlier on Tuesday, it was reported that the United States conducted its fifth humanitarian aid airdrop to Iraqi Kurds. The aid consisted of 76 bundles of supplies with 19,000 liters of water and 11,080 meals.
The Islamic State (IS) Sunni militant group, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS or ISIL), has been fighting in Syria against the country’s president, Bashar Assad. In June, the group launched an offensive in northern and western Iraq. The group also announced the establishment of a caliphate on the Iraq-Syria border. Last weekend, US fighter jets and drones hit vehicles and artillery belonging to the IS in a series of airstrikes.
