From Learning English, this is In The News.
The United States military bombed Islamic State militants in northern Iraq on Friday. A Defense Department official said U.S. airplanes dropped laser-guided bombs on militant artillery positions near the city of Irbil. The Islamists reportedly had used the artillery against Iraqi Kurdish forces defending the city.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama ordered the U.S. military to carry out targeted airstrikes against the militants. The Islamic State was formerly known as ISIL -- the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant.
The president said the military operation is part of a combined effort to support Kurdish forces in the north. Another goal, he said, is to provide humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians threatened by militant action.
Today I authorized two operations in Iraq: targeted air strikes to protect our American personnel, and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who are trapped on a mountain without food and water and facing almost certain death.
Humanitarian Crisis
Mr. Obama spoke hours after U.S. aircraft dropped humanitarian aid on Iraqs Mount Sinjar. Thousands of displaced Iraqis have been living there for days without food, water or shelter. They fled up the mountain to escape from the Islamic State militants.
The refugees are mainly Christians or members of the Yazidi religious group. The militants are Sunni Muslims. They have threatened to kill non-Muslims if they reject Islams teachings. They are also carrying out attacks on Muslims who are not Sunnis.
【2014英语四级听力练习:慢速英语(3)】相关文章:
最新
2017-01-16
2016-10-21
2016-10-08
2016-10-08
2016-10-08
2016-10-08