US Warplanes Hammer ISIS Targets

U.S.-led warplanes continued to hammer ISIS positions around the pivotal Iraqi battleground city of Tikrit, stepping in at the Iraqi Prime Minister’s request to get at what a spokesman called “difficult targets.”

The U.S. military announced Thursday that it and its allies conducted 17 airstrikes around Tikrit, going after three ISIS checkpoints, two bridges, two staging areas and other targets such as a roadblock and a “command and control facility.”

According to CNN, the idea is that this aerial bombardment will pave the way for Iraqi forces to go in and take control on the ground.

“The ongoing Iraqi and coalition airstrikes are setting the conditions for offensive action,” said Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, commanding general of the U.S.-led coalition, CNN reports.