The USA is targeting the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq. Air strikes have destroyed weapons that the IS captured from Iraq's army. President Obama said he would protect US residents in Iraq's Kurdistan region. IS changed its name from ISIS. It controls a quarter of Iraq and a third of Syria. Mr Obama promised to support Iraqis but would not send troops to Iraq. He said: "American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq."

Mr Obama also wants to protect Iraq's Yazidi people. The Yazidis are ethnic Kurds. Their religion has elements of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Thousands of Yazidis are trapped on a mountain without food and water. The IS told them to convert to Islam, pay a tax, or face death. The UN warned of a humanitarian catastrophe and ethnic cleansing. Reports are that the IS have kidnapped hundreds of Yazidi women.