Obama weighs expansion of military campaign in Iraq

The Obama administration is considering a new military operation to help Shiite Turkmen in northern Iraq who have been surrounded by fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Pentagon said Wednesday.

The mission would focus on the town of Amirli, where an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Iraqis are surrounded by ISIS and are estimated to have no access to food or water.

“We are aware that there are humanitarian crises and human suffering throughout Iraq. This includes Amirli,” Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren on Wednesday.

If the Pentagon moves forward, it would be its second humanitarian operation in Iraq. Earlier this month, the U.S. began to airdrop food and water to tens of thousands of Yazidis, members of an Iraqi religious sect, who were stranded on Mount Sinjar after fleeing ISIS. The U.S. conducted airstrikes to stop the militant group from advancing.

The Pentagon said the president already authorized a humanitarian mission when he ordered the rescue operation for the Yazidis on Aug. 7.

“Providing relief for humanitarian situations through air operations is one of the missions that we’ve been authorized to conduct,” Warren said.

However, the president’s Aug. 8 notification to Congress of the humanitarian airdrops to the Yazidis said the previous rescue operation was “limited” to the Yazidis. [READ WAR POWERS ACT NOTIFICATION.]

“I have authorized U.S. Armed Forces to provide humanitarian assistance in Iraq in an operation that commenced on August 7, 2014. These operations will also be limited to supporting the civilians trapped on Mount Sinjar,” the notification said.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest sought to bridge the gap.

“These kind of options are on the table because they do alleviate some of the suffering that is being sustained by religious and ethnic minorities,” he told reporters Wednesday.

“This is the kind of situation the president has ordered military action in support of in the past,” he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military is continuing to strike ISIS targets in Iraq.

On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command announced that the U.S. has conducted 101 airstrikes in Iraq since Aug. 8.

U.S. fighter and attack aircraft, as well as drones, most recently conducted three strikes and destroyed a Humvee, supply truck and three armored vehicles used by ISIS, as well as severely damaged a building used by the militant group.

The airstrikes took place near Erbil and the Mosul Dam, and were “in support of Iraqi security force operations.”

“The strikes were conducted under authority to support Iraqi security force and Kurdish defense force operations, as well as to protect critical infrastructure, U.S. personnel and facilities, and support humanitarian efforts,” Central Command said.