U.S. jets and armed drones conducted four more airstrikes against Islamic State positions in northern Iraq on Saturday as President Obama said the American air campaign would not expand beyond the limited objectives he has outlined.
All of the air attacks took place in the area of Sinjar, in the northwest part of the country, where militants have surrounded and threatened to kill as many as 40,000 members of the minority Yazidi sect. The U.S. Central Command said that the strikes, which took place in the late morning and midafternoon Eastern time, had destroyed several armored personnel carriers and armed trucks. “All aircraft safely exited the area,” it said.

The ongoing strikes, which began Friday, address “immediate” concerns of protecting Americans, besieged minorities and critical infrastructure in the north, Obama said. But comprehensive aid to push back advances by the Sunni Muslim extremists through much of the country over the past two months will require a new Iraqi government, he said.
Formation of that government, already delayed beyond a constitutional deadline after elections in the spring, fell further behind as a parliamentary vote scheduled for Sunday was postponed for a day amid internal wrangling among Shiite politicians.
Obama’s remarks put in sharp relief his decision in the past week to use airstrikes to keep Iraq from disintegrating and prevent “genocide” against minorities, while maintaining enough leverage to press for an inclusive government that he is convinced is the country’s only long-term salvation.