US launches first strikes in Iraq Sunni Arab heartland

The United States launched its first air strikes in the Sunni Arab heartland on Sunday, bombing jihadists around a key dam on the Euphrates Valley, the military said.

"At the request of the government of Iraq, US military forces attacked ISIL (Islamic State) terrorists near Haditha in Anbar province in support of Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribes protecting the Haditha dam," the US Central Command said.

(more to come)