article_snippet: Yesterday the US launched airstrikes against targets in Tikrit in Iraq to support Iraqi ground forces trying to push the militants out of Iraq. 
article_snippet: The strikes began on Wednesday and are understood to be ongoing.
article_snippet: the US has hundreds of military advisers in Iraq helping Iraq security forces plan operations against the Islamic State, which occupies large chunks of northern and western Iraq.
article_snippet: Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias have battled ISIS militants in Tikrit, where smoke was seen Yesterday .