Iraq PM says will protect civilians after U.S.-Iraq air strikes against IS

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday that he had ordered his air force to halt strikes on civilian areas, following attacks by both Iraqi and U.S. jets in large areas of the country held by Islamic State (IS) fighters. The announcement, which comes as the United States tries to build regional support for deeper military action against IS in Iraq and Syria, may be aimed at winning Sunni Muslim support for Abadi’s new Shi’ite-led government as it battles the group which controls one third of Iraqi territory. Sunni Muslim tribal figures, who the U.S. hopes can be persuaded to turn against the jihadists, have demanded a freeze on military action on civilian areas as one of the conditions for their support of the government.

I have ordered the Iraqi Air Force to halt shelling of civilian areas even in those towns controlled by ISIS.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on his Twitter account

IS took the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit in June and has announced an Islamic Caliphate in areas it controls. Its fighters have shocked the world with killings of Sunnis, Shi’ites, Christians, Yazidis and Kurds. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been touring the Middle East to coordinate a response to IS’s growing power in eastern Syria and western Iraq. Western governments and Islamic countries fear their citizens who fight for the militant could threaten national security if they return.

Middle East