Naval Power Bolsters U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq

August 8, 2014 by Kris Osborn - defensetech.org

Navy assets deployed to the Persian Gulf are responsible for providing the advanced fire power and weaponry used in targeted U.S. military strikes August 8 against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant artillery positions, Pentagon officials told Military​.com.

Two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a mobile artillery piece near Irbil, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement. ISIL was using this artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending Irbil where U.S. personnel are located, he said.

The fighter jets were launched from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which has been forward deployed in the region for months.

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