Washington, Aug 11 (Prensa Latina) The United States launched new air strikes against Iraqi insurgents, but without the action of ground troops will be difficult to achieve long-term progress and stop the humanitarian crisis, media said today.
The attacks of American aviation try to support local forces fighting the Islamic State (EI) in the vicinity of Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, according to a Pentagon Central Command, which has responsibility for the Middle East.
The American air support stimulated during the weekend the Kurds to move against the positions of EI and take places near Erbil, adds The New York Times.
However, Col. Ed Thomas, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Times that it is important to remember that the current military operations in Iraq have a “limited purpose”.
In this regard, retired Gen. Carter Ham, counterinsurgency specialist, believes that “it will be very difficult to protect Americans in Iraq, stop the humanitarian crisis and eliminate insurgent safe areas without the use of our ground troops or foreign”.
According to an article in The Washington Post on Monday, the American intelligence agencies confirmed that elements of the extremist organization al Qaeda in Yemen and other neighboring nations joined in recent weeks to groups of EI [IS].
These movements are perceived as a worrying sign of the expansion of insurgents operating in the territory of Iraq and Syria that according to the Post “have caused heavy damage to the military forces of countries in the region and are now in direct conflict with the United States”.
Analysts of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other agencies have seen no evidence so far, about the main leaders of al Qaeda are ready to join EI, but say there are reasons to believe that this could happen in the future, the paper said.
The American intelligence services estimate that EI has some 10,000 troops, including about 5,000 from other countries.
