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Armed U.S. Drones Start Flights Over Iraq
(New York Times) Rod Nordland, Eric Schmitt and Suadad Al-Salhy - The first armed American drones began flying over Iraq on Thursday, a Pentagon official in Washington said, in an operation meant to offer added protection to the first American military assessment teams that are fanning out in and around Baghdad to help the Iraqi military combat the insurgents. The Predators, equipped with Hellfire missiles, will augment the 40 unarmed reconnaissance flights flown by American aircraft over Iraq each day. The armed drones depart from an air base in Kuwait, the official said. Senior American officials say President Obama has not ruled out airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq or Syria, but is waiting for the military teams to complete their assessments on both the Iraqi security forces and the Sunni militants that have swept across northern and western Iraq, before taking any further military action.