Islamic State fighters seize Iraq\\\'s largest dam

Islamic State fighters seized Iraq’s largest hydroelectric dam on Thursday, giving them control of enormous power and water resources and leverage over the Tigris River that runs through the heart of Baghdad. The fighting has trapped tens of thousands of members of religious minorities on a mountaintop. On Barack Obama’s order, humanitarian supplies were airdropped for them. However, the US President was still weighing whether to combine that assistance with US airstrikes, officials said on Thursday night. Airstrikes would mark a significant shift in the US strategy in Iraq, where the military fully withdrew in late 2011 after nearly a decade of war. Officials said Obama could announce a decision very soon. Thursday’s dam seizure was the latest in a string of victories by the Sunni radical group as it expands its hold in northern Iraq, driving back Kurdish forces, sending minority communities fleeing and unleashing bombings that have killed more than 90 people in the capital over the past two days, report agencies.