Washington expands airstrikes in Iraq

Washington said on Sunday it had carried out airstrikes against jihadists in Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, expanding its monthlong air campaign and its involvement in the conflict.

It was a significant escalation for US President Barack Obama, who made his political career opposing the war in Iraq and pulled out US troops in 2011.

Previous strikes since Obama launched the US air campaign on Aug 8 had been mainly in support of Kurdish forces in the north.