After authorisation from Obama, US aircraft strike ISIS in Iraq

Washington: US military aircraft have conducted a strike on ISIS artillery that had been used near Irbil, Iraq, Pentagon said on Friday. Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby, writing on Twitter, said that US forces struck after artillery fire against Kurdish forces defending the key city of Erbil. The U.S. aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a "mobile artillery piece" used by ISIS at about 6:45 a.m. ET Friday, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said. The commander of U.S. Central Command made the decision to strike under authorization granted him by Obama, Kirby said. President Barack Obama on Thursday gave authorisation to launch "targeted airstrikes" if needed to protect U.S. interests from fighters with the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS. The Sunni Muslim group IS, formerly known as Isis, now has control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria. In June, IS took control of the city of Mosul.