The US has carried out airstrikes against artillery used by Islamist militants in northern Iraq, the Pentagon says.
Two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a mobile artillery piece near Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish region.
An F/A-18 fighter jet. File Pic Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement that the Islamist militants had been using the artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending the city, where US personnel are located.
"The decision to strike was made by the US Central Command commander under authorisation granted him by the commander in chief," he said.
On Thursday President Barack Obama said he had authorised the strikes on Iraq to protect religious minorities and prevent a "genocide".
Some 40,000 residents from the ancient Yezidi community have been forced to leave the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar after the Sunni fighters overwhelmed Kurdish forces.
Many Yezidis are trapped on Mount Sinjar without food or water and are at risk of starvation as the militants surround the base.
The group has been advancing in Iraq On Thursday, the US dropped thousands of gallons of drinking water and 8,000 packaged meals to Yezidis.
The airdrops were performed by one C-17 and two C-130 cargo aircraft that together delivered a total of 72 bundles of food and water.
They were escorted by two F/A-18 fighters from an undisclosed air base in the region, the Pentagon said.
In his late-night address on Thursday, Mr Obama said: "America is coming to help".
But the President, who opposed the 2003 invasion, has vowed there would be no return of ground troops to Iraq. The last US troops left in 2011.
"As commander in chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq," he said.
As the situation deteriorates, Britons have been warned to leave Irbil.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon also said Britain was offering help to the Americans in their efforts to provide humanitarian support.
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