President Barack Obama is considering ordering US airstrikes against Sunni extremists in northern Iraq and humanitarian food drops to beleaguered civilians, reports said Thursday.

US media, citing senior White House officials, said Obama was weighing military options after jihadists from the so-called "Islamic State" attacked Christian and Yazidi minority communities.

“There could be a humanitarian catastrophe there,” an official told the New York Times, warning that a decision on military action was expected “imminently — this could be a fast-moving train.”

Obama came to office determined to end US military involvement in Iraq and in his first term oversaw the withdrawal of the huge ground force deployed there since the 2003 American invasion.

But recent rapid gains by the Islamic State, a successor group to Al-Qaeda's former Iraqi and Syrian operations, compelled him to send military advisors back to Baghdad evaluate the situation.

The United Nations Security Council was to hold emergency talks on the crisis later Thursday, and France has pledged support for forces "engaged in battle" against the IS radicals.

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An Iraqi Yazidi family that fled the violence in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, sit at at a scho …

The group, along with allied Sunni factions, is at war with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's mainly Shiite government forces and with the peshmerga forces of the Kurdish autonomous region of the country.

In late June it proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling rebel-held areas of Syria and Iraq and seized the major city of Mosul. In recent days it has seized towns formerly populated by Christians and Yazidis.

Iraqi religious leaders say Islamic State militants have forced 100,000 Christians to flee and have occupied churches, removing crosses and destroying manuscripts.

Meanwhile, several thousand Yazidis, members of an ancient pre-Muslim religious minority, are stranded on high ground after being driven out of their home town of Sinjar by IS fighters.

US press reports said that Obama could decide to mount a humanitarian operation to save displaced or besieged civilians, or launch military strikes to halt the IS advance.

President Barack Obama meets with his national security advisors in the Situation Room of the White House, Aug. 7, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

After reports circulated throughout the day, that Washington was considering taking action to help thousands of stranded Iraqi citizens, news out of Iraq is that a two-pronged effort was now underway to assist those in northern Iraq who were under siege from militants. Humanitarian airdrops of water and supplies began on Friday morning local time, and bombing assaults were also targeting ISIS positions near the Kurdish town of Erbil.

Although the Pentagon has denied direct involvment by U.S. forces, American planes are reportedly in the air providing support. Iraqi forces claimed to have taken part in the bombing runs, though some have questioned if the Iraqi air force was equipped to handle such attack, or if another ally, possibly Turkey, was involved.

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Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby quikcly denied reports that the U.S. has bombed Iraq in the wake of increased aggression by the Islamic State militant group, which has resulted in as many as 40,000 displaced religious minorities.

The New York Times reported around 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Thursday that, according to Kurdish officials and media reports, American military forces conducted airstrikes on at least two targets in northern Iraq, where ISIS has cut off access to the displaced residents. Within minutes, the Pentagon denied that story via Twitter.

Rear Adm. John Kirby ✔ @PentagonPresSec Follow Press reports that US has conducted airstrikes in Iraq completely false. No such action taken. 4:05 PM - 7 Aug 2014

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Mitchell Prothero of the McClatchy news service also reported that jet aircraft had bombed ISIS positions, and that Kurdish television first reported the bombers were American. In a McClatchy interview, a resident in the town of Kalak, 25 miles northwest of Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region, said she saw the aircraft and heard the explosions, but could not see any markings on the aircraft because it was dark. The bombings would have taken place on early Friday morning in Iraq.

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The Obama administration had said earlier Thursday the president is considering airstrikes in the region to address the humanitarian crisis, and to protect U.S. military advisors who are in the region. "These actions have exacerbated an already dire crisis, and the situation is nearing a humanitarian catastrophe," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. "I'm not in a position to rule things on the table or off the table."

In addition, ABC News is reporting that the U.S. has begun humanitarian air drops, but not bombing raids. The Times also reported that President Obama was planning to deliver a statement, but there has no confirmation from the White House.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/08/pentagon-denies-reports-of-us-bombing-in-iraq/375769/

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The ruins of destroyed houses are seen in Beit Hanoun town, which witnesses said was heavily hit by Israeli shelling and air strikes during Israeli offensive, in the northern Gaza Strip August 5, 2014. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

By Anthony Deutsch and Dan Williams

THE HAGUE/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The possibility of a war crimes investigation into the conduct of Israeli forces in Gaza, until recently unthinkable, has grown after the Palestinians said this week they wanted to become a party to the International Criminal Court.

The world's permanent war crimes court in The Hague declined two years ago to investigate allegations against the Israeli military in 2008-2009, citing the uncertain legal status of the Palestinian Authority.

A lot has changed since then.

Fresh allegations of war crimes have flowed in recent weeks from fighting in Gaza, where Israel responded to a surge in rocket attacks by Hamas militants with air strikes and a ground incursion. The Palestinians this week unexpectedly said they are just one procedural step away from ICC membership.

The legal groundwork for such a move was laid in Nov 2012 when the 193-member U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine by upgrading the Palestinian Authority's observer status to "non-member state" from "entity.”

If the Palestinians were to sign the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, the court would have jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.

With Palestinian authorization, an ICC investigation could then examine events as far back as July 1, 2002, when the court opened with a mandate to try individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

"If Palestine applies it will be admitted to the ICC," John Dugard, international law professor and a former U.N. Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, told Reuters.

"The U.N. has spoken and it has recognized the state of Palestine and it is now for the ICC to admit Palestine. I cannot see how that can be resisted."

Dugard said the Palestinians could then ask prosecutors to investigate alleged crimes in July and August in Gaza, but also the legality of Israeli West Bank settlements.

"The settlements are an ongoing crime and it is quite clear that the settlements constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute and that is what Israel is desperately worried about," Dugan said.

Israel says the settlements are legal, as it captured the West Bank from Jordan, rather than a sovereign Palestine, in the 1967 Middle East war.

ISRAELI DEFENSE

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The ruins of destroyed houses are seen in Beit Hanoun town, which witnesses said was heavily hit by …

War crimes accusations accompanied Israel's incursion into Gaza in July. Given the far higher toll of civilian deaths and destruction on the Palestinian side, a U.N. inquiry was launched into human rights violations.

Israeli officials said force was used proportionately. But Israel's closest ally, Washington, called the shelling of a U.N.-run school "disgraceful".

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called for a probe into attacks on U.N. schools in densely populated Gaza. "While they have the right to defend themselves, there is more they can do" to prevent civilian deaths, she said.

Gaza officials say 1,874 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed, while Israel counted 64 soldiers and three civilian deaths on its side.

Israeli officials said the hostilities were justified self defense against militant attacks and that all efforts have been made to avoid civilian deaths. Roughly 47 percent of those killed in Gaza were combatants, Israel said.

One Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the legal strategy is confidential, said the Israeli government is planning a defense of the Gaza operation and that counter-claims, including against the administration of President Mahmoud Abbas, could follow if the ICC launches a case.

"We are talking about terrorism involving officials, security personnel and others, from his administration, and emanating from areas under his control,” the official said.

Israel has taken great care to adhere to the laws of war and conducts internal investigations to ensure military personnel follow rules of conduct and morality, the official said.

Israeli forces destroyed or damaged some 3,000 homes in Gaza during this war, according to Palestinian estimates. The Israelis don’t dispute attacking homes, but Israeli jurists said they were pre-vetted and approved as legitimate military targets.

Richard Kemp, a retired British army colonel who formerly commanded forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and has been studying the Israeli military's doctrine, believes the operations were conducted within the law.

"That does not mean that in the heat of the moment it would not be possible for an individual soldier or commander to act outside the laws of war, " he said.

"That kind of adherence to the law does not preclude accidental killing of civilians. If it is done accidentally, if it is not a general theme or policy of negligence, then that is not a deliberate breach. Accidents happen in every army.”

PALESTINIANS TOO COULD FACE PROSECUTION

The ICC, with 122 member countries, is a court of last resort, meaning that it intervenes only when a state is unable or unwilling to prosecute alleged crimes. The United States, China and Russia have notably not joined.

On top of criticism of being sluggish, prosecutors also have faced criticism from analysts for only bringing charges against Africans, while atrocities in conflicts in the politically-sensitive Middle East, such as Iraq, Syria and Egypt, go unpunished.

The ICC defends its procedures.

"The selection of situations and cases, and persons to be investigated, is always an independent prosecutorial decision based on the Rome Statute legal framework and the evidence collected. Geographical and political consideration will thus never form part of any decision making," the prosecutor’s office said in a statement to Reuters.

ICC membership has been described by diplomats and officials as the Palestinian “nuclear option” because it is the key leverage the Palestinians hold in negotiations. It would also expose the Palestinians themselves to possible prosecution.

Nearly a month of fighting in Gaza "left us no choice" but to seek a case against Israel at the ICC, Palestinian Foreign Minister Raid al-Malki said on Tuesday after meeting with prosecutors to discuss joining the court.

"An investigation by the ICC is becoming crucial in the absence of a real system of accountability, due to the existence of a pervasive culture of impunity given to Israel and resulting from the lack of action by the international community," he said.

Malki said "there is no difficulty for us to show or build the case. Israel is in clear violation of international law."

Factions within the Palestinian Authority are divided about joining the ICC and analysts say Hamas is unlikely to agree if its leaders might be prosecuted.

Hassan Al-Aouri, legal advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas, told Voice of Palestine radio on Wednesday that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have rejected the idea of ICC membership.

"We are trying to convince them it is necessary to go to the court," Aouri said. "At the end of the day the president is the one in charge and the leadership will study the issue and will make a decision."

Even if the ICC were to issue arrest warrants against officials in Israel and the Palestinian territories, it is uncertain how they would be brought to trial. The ICC has no police force and relies on the cooperation of member states to transfer suspects to The Hague.

(Additional reporting By Nidal Al Mughrabi in Gaza, Michelle Nichols in New York, Jussi Rosendahl in The Hague and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah.)

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Carnage in Iraq as Islamic State extends reach

Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) - Jihadists seized much of Iraq's Christian heartland and moved within striking distance of autonomous Kurdistan on Thursday in a push that stirred panic among residents and alarm in Western capitals.

Amid reports Washington was pondering air strikes, the UN Security Council prepared for emergency talks following a sequence of attacks that saw Islamic State (IS) militants extend their writ over northern Iraq in less than a week.

Jihadist fighters moved into Qaraqosh, Iraq's largest Christian town, and surrounding areas on Wednesday night after the withdrawal of Kurdish peshmerga troops, who are stretched thin across several fronts.

"Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella and Karamlesh have been emptied of their original population and are now under the control of the militants," Joseph Thomas, a Chaldean Catholic archbishop in northern Iraq, told AFP.

Tal Kayf, the home of a significant Christian community as well as members of the Shabak Shiite minority, also emptied overnight.

"I heard some gunshots last night and, when I looked outside, I saw a military convoy from the Islamic State... shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest)," said Boutros Sargon, a resident who fled and was reached by phone in Arbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

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An Iraqi Yazidi family that fled the violence in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, sit at at a scho …

Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako, who heads Iraq's largest Christian denomination, said the overnight offensive had displaced 100,000 Christians.

"This is a humanitarian disaster. The churches are occupied, their crosses were taken down," he told AFP, adding that 1,500 manuscripts had been burnt.

Last month, IS militants forced Christians out of the main northern city of Mosul they conquered at the very beginning of their offensive two months ago by demanding they convert to Islam, pay protection money or leave on pain of death.

- US decision -

With Kurdish and Iraqi federal troops proving unable to stop the rot, calls have mounted for international intervention against the jihadists before they can consolidate a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria they proclaimed in June.

Islamic Militants Seize Northern Towns, and MorePlay Video

US President Barack Obama, who ended his country's eight-year occupation of Iraq in 2011, was expected to "imminently" decide on possible airstrikes.

The Security Council meeting -- due to start at 2130 GMT -- was requested by France, whose President Francois Hollande said he was ready to "support forces" battling the jihadists.

He spoke after a conversation with the leader of Iraq's Kurdish region, Massud Barzani, but did not specify what kind of support France was offering.

The latest IS advance means jihadists are now in some areas barely 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the official border of the Kurdish region and 40 kilometres from Arbil.

The group launched a devastating offensive on June 9, seizing the country's second city Mosul the next day and sweeping across much of the Sunni heartland.

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An Iraqi Christian woman fleeing the violence in the village of Qaraqush and Bartala, about 30 kms e …

Peshmerga forces apparently redeployed to Arbil some of the forces they had assigned to the disputed land they grabbed from the government during the army's initial debacle.

They also beefed up security in Kirkuk, the most significant conquest they made during the June chaos, but the city was rocked by a car bomb Thursday.

The blast ripped through a Shiite mosque where displaced people had sought refuge, killing at least nine, police and medical sources said.

- Mountain death trap -

The experienced peshmerga were thought to be a sufficient bulwark against massive further advances by the jihadists, but IS fighters have been moving stealthily across the northern Nineveh province and making surprise gains.

Iraqi Christians in France worry about persecution …Play Video

At the weekend, IS units took over most of the Mosul hinterland which the peshmerga had occupied after government forces retreated in June.

Among its conquests was the Sinjar area, from which tens of thousands of civilians fled, including many families from the Yazidi minority who are still hiding in nearby mountains.

The Yazidis, and other local residents, have been stranded in the mountains since Saturday with little food and water.

Fares Sinjari Abu Ivan, a Yazidi beekeeper who fled with his 80-year-old mother to the barren mountains, told AFP by phone that some groups had attempted to flee but with mixed results.

"We have spoken to some who made it to Turkey but in their flight, they encountered Daash (Islamic State) fighters who cut the road. Some fled, some were killed and others came back to the mountain."

The leaders of the small minority, who practice a 4,000-year-old faith rooted in Zoroastrianism, have warned that their entire community risks being massacred or starved into extinction.

Turkish officials said up to 800 displaced Sinjaris had made their own way to Turkey, while the Turkish Kurdish group PKK said it had evacuated several families after opening a safe passage to Syria.

IS, meanwhile, boasted of its latest victories.

"We are pleased to announce to the Islamic nation a new liberation in Nineveh province, teaching the secular Kurds a lesson," it said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes in northern Iraq, warning they would be launched if needed to defend Americans from advancing Islamic militants and protect civilians under siege. His announcement threatened a renewal of U.S. military involvement in the country's long sectarian war.

In a televised late-night statement Thursday from the White House, Obama said American military planes already had carried out airdrops of humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of Iraqi religious minorities surrounded by militants and desperately in need of food and water.

"Today America is coming to help," he declared.

The announcements reflected the deepest American engagement in Iraq since U.S. troops withdrew in late 2011 after nearly a decade of war. Obama, who made his remarks in a steady and somber tone, has staked much of his legacy as president on ending what he has called the "dumb war" in Iraq.

Obama said the humanitarian airdrops were made at the request of the Iraqi government. The food and water supplies were delivered to the tens of thousands of Yazidis trapped on a mountain without food and water. The Yazidis, who follow an ancient religion with ties to Zoroastrianism, fled their homes after the Islamic State group issued an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a religious fine, flee their homes or face death.

Mindful of the public's aversion to another lengthy war, Obama acknowledged that the prospect of a new round of U.S. military action would be a cause for concern among many Americans. He vowed anew not to put American combat troops back on the ground in Iraq and said there was no U.S. military solution to the crisis.

White House: 'No US Military Solutions' in …Play Video

"As commander in chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq," Obama said.

Even so, he outlined a rationale for airstrikes if the Islamic State militants advance on American troops in the northern city of Irbil and the U.S. consulate there in the Kurdish region of Iraq. The troops were sent to Iraq earlier this year as part of the White House response to the extremist group's swift movement across the border with Syria and into Iraq.

"When the lives of American citizens are at risk, we will take action," Obama said. "That's my responsibility as commander in chief."

He said he had also authorized the use of targeted military strikes if necessary to help the Iraqi security forces protect civilians.

Obama spoke following a day of urgent discussions with his national security team. He addressed the nation only after the American military aircraft delivering food and water to the Iraqis had safely left the drop site in northern Iraq.

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President Barack Obama arrives to speak about the situation in Iraq in the State Dining Room at the …

The Pentagon said the airdrops were performed by one C-17 and two C-130 cargo aircraft that together delivered a total of 72 bundles of food and water. They were escorted by two F/A-18 fighters from an undisclosed air base in the region.

The planes delivered 5,300 gallons (20,063 liters) of fresh drinking water and 8,000 pre-packaged meals and were over the drop area for less than 15 minutes at a low altitude.

The president cast the mission to assist the Yazidis as part of the American mandate to assist around the world when the U.S. has the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre.

In those cases, Obama said, "we can act carefully and responsibly to prevent a potential act of genocide."

Officials said the U.S. was prepared to undertake additional humanitarian airdrops if necessary, though they did not say how quickly those missions could occur.

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Protesters ask for help for Yazidi people who are stranded by violence in northern Iraq, Thursday, A …

Administration officials said they believe unilateral U.S. strikes would be consistent with international law in part because the Iraqi government has asked for Washington to take military action. They also said Obama had the constitutional authority to act on his own in order to protect American citizens.

Still, there was no guarantee that the president's threat of military strikes would actually be followed by action. He similarly authorized strikes in Syria last summer after chemical weapons were deployed, but those attacks were never carried out, in part because of domestic political concerns and also because an international agreement to strip Syria of its stockpiles of the deadly gases.

The president has also faced persistent calls to take military action in Syria on humanitarian grounds, given that more than 170,000 people have been killed there.

Critics, including some Republicans in Congress, have argued that Obama's cautious approach to Syria has allowed the Islamic State group to flourish there, growing strong enough to move across the border with Iraq and make swift gains.

Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised Obama's proposed actions Thursday night but said much more will be necessary.

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Protesters ask for help for Yazidi people who are stranded by violence in northern Iraq, Thursday, A …

"This should include the provision of military and other assistance to our Kurdish, Iraqi, and Syrian partners" who are fighting the militants, airstrikes against the militants' leaders and forces and support for Sunni Iraqis who seek to resist the extremists, they said in a statement.

In light of the militants' advances, Obama dispatched about 800 U.S. forces to Iraq earlier this year, with those troops largely split between joint operation centers in Baghdad and Irbil.

More than half are providing security for the embassy and U.S. personnel. American service members also are involved in improving U.S. intelligence, providing security cooperation and conducting assessments of Iraqi capabilities.

Officials said there were no plans to evacuate those Americans from Iraq but that the U.S. was conducting enhanced intelligence flights over Irbil with both manned and unmanned aircrafts in order to monitor the deteriorating conditions.

If the president were to order actual airstrikes in Iraq, it's all but certain he would proceed without formal congressional approval. Lawmakers left town last week for a five-week recess, and there was no sign that Congress was being called back.

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President Barack Obama speaks about the situation in Iraq in the State Dining Room at the White Hous …

However, officials said the White House was in contact throughout Thursday with some lawmakers, including Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Some Republicans have expressly called for the president to take action and have said he doesn't need the approval of lawmakers.

___

Associated Press writers Josh Lederman and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Robert Burns at http://twitter.com/RobertBurnsAP

The president also announces the delivery of humanitarian assistance to besieged Iraqis.
'Today America is coming to help'