President Barack Obama says America will not be "dragged" into fighting another war in Iraq because there is "no American military solution to the larger crisis there."
Obama said in his weekly address Saturday that he has authorized two operations in Iraq - one to protect Americans in Iraq and another providing humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians trapped on a mountain by terrorists.
The president said the U.S. "cannot and should not intervene" every time there is a crisis in the world. However, Obama said when there is a situation like the one on the mountain, where "countless, innocent people are facing a massacre," the U.S. cannot "just look away."
The U.S. military launched two rounds of airstrikes Friday in northwestern Iraq, using drones and fighter jets.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said remotely piloted aircraft Friday struck Islamic State militants near Irbil. He said fighter planes later dropped eight bombs on vehicles and a mortar position in the area.
He said the U.S. military conducted the strikes to help defend Irbil, where U.S. personnel are assisting the government of Iraq.
Earlier Friday, the U. S. military dropped 250-kilogram [500-pound] laser-guided bombs on an artillery unit that was shelling Kurdish forces defending Irbil.
A senior administration official said the strikes came as the Islamic State extremists began advancing and were beginning to threaten the periphery of the Kurdish city.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the same principle would apply to any threat to U.S. personnel and facilities anywhere in Iraq, including the American embassy in Baghdad.
The Pentagon said U.S. military aircraft dropped humanitarian aid for a second straight day Saturday to thousands of mainly Christian and Yazidi refugees. who fled their homes in the face of the Islamic fighters' advance and have taken refuge on the slopes of Sinjar mountain.
Obama on Thursday authorized U.S. military planes to carry out "targeted airstrikes" against the Islamic State extremists as well as deliver food to stranded refugees.
On Friday, Obama sent a letter to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Boehner, in accordance with the War Powers Resolution, describing the situation
Obama said he had authorized targeted airstrikes in Iraq as necessary to protect American personnel in Iraq from the advance of Islamic State militants toward Irbil. Obama said he also authorized the military to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians trapped on Mount Sinjar.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday Obama had not set any specific end date for the military operations.
Islamic State extremists have brutally executed ethnic-religious minorities and others who do not agree with their particular brand of Islam.
Speaking from New Delhi, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the United States would continue to support the Iraqi government, as well as Iraqi security forces against the Islamic State militants.
U.S. military aircraft dropped humanitarian aid for a second straight day Saturday to thousands of mainly Christian and Yazidi refugees. who fled their homes in the face of the Islamic fighters' advance and have taken refuge on the slopes of Sinjar mountain.
Friday three aircraft dropped 72 bundles of emergency food and water supplies to the refugees.
In Washington on Friday, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes met at the White House with members of the Yazidi community to discuss the situation in northern Iraq, and he said the United Sates will continue to provide humanitarian support.
Outside a church in Irbil, some of the thousands of Iraqi Christians fleeing the onslaught of the Islamic State gave thanks to the U.S.
"We are happy, we are pleased with the airstrikes, and let them bring back our properties. And let our government find a proper solution for us," said Luay Janan, a Christian fleeing the violence in the region.
The first of the U.S. airstrikes hit early Friday, targeting an artillery position that had been firing on Kurdish forces protecting Irbil, a city where the U.S. has diplomats and military advisers.
Later, U.S. fighter jets taking off from the struck an Islamic State convoy and mortar position with laser-guided bombs, while a Predator drone armed with hellfire missiles took out militants at another mortar position.
How much more support Iraq gets, though, may depend on progress with a new, inclusive Iraqi government.
The Associated Press cited an Iraqi human rights ministry spokesman who said late Friday that hundreds of Yazidi women were taken captive by Islamic State militants.