US warplanes to fly from Iraqi base

United States combat aircraft will soon start flying out of a base in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq as part of an expanded air campaign against Islamic State jihadists, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby confirmed “armed and manned” US aircraft would fly from Arbil, capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, but declined to provide more details.

American fighter jets and other warplanes bombing IS militants in Iraq previously have been flying out of bases and from aircraft carriers in the region outside Iraq.