US fighters and remotely piloted aircraft recently conducted another 14 air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremists threatening Iraqi security and Kurdish forces operating near the Mosul Dam, the Defense Department announced Aug. 20. “The strikes destroyed or damaged six ISIL Humvees, three [improved explosive device] emplacements, one mortar tube, and two armed trucks,” states the release. “All aircraft exited the strike area safely.” US Central Command has conducted a total of 84 air strikes across Iraq since Aug. 8, one day after President Barack Obama first authorized air strikes and humanitarian assistance to aid American personnel in the region as well as Iraqi Yazidis stranded on a mountain in northern Iraq. Of those air strikes, 51 “have been in support of Iraqi forces near the Mosul Dam,” states the release. A masked ISIL executioner, who allegedly spoke with a British accent, claimed US journalist James Foley was savagely murdered as a direct result of the air strikes in Iraq, reported the BBC. “If true, the brutal murder of James Foley is shocking and depraved,” according to a statement released Thursday from British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office.
A Golden Dome task force established under U.S. Northern Command earlier this year has a broad remit, which includes fielding the capability to defend the U.S. against missile and drone attacks, its leaders said this week. Some of the primary focuses right now are ensuring Golden Dome can defend itself…