Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Launch ... A F/A-18 fighter jet takes off for Iraq from the flight deck of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Persian Gulf. Source: AP Source: AP

President Obama this morning gave his approval to the appointment of a new prime minister to replace Nouri al-Maliki and urged the formation of a new government in Iraq as soon as possible.

He also gave a rider: There would be no extra military support until this is done.

In brief remarks delivered at his vacation spot in Martha’s Vineyard, Obama said he and Vice President Joe Biden had spoken with Haider al-Ibadi, who was designated prime minister of Iraq by the new president.

It was another snub for outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who yesterday accused the Iraqi president of breaching the constitution and moved to shore-up his powerbase.

President Obama also said the US had successfully carried out targeted air strikes to support Kurdish fighters in their battle against Islamist extremists, and conducted humanitarian relief missions to aid thousands of stranded women and children on a mountain in Iraq.

The president also repeated his view that the only lasting solution in Iraq is the formation of an inclusive government.

All aboard ... Aircraft in the hangar deck of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Persian Gulf, yesterday. Source: AP Source: AP

FRESH ROUND OF AIRSTRIKES

US fighter jets have carried out airstrikes on four checkpoints manned by Sunni militants in northwest Iraq near where thousands of minority Yazidi refugees have been trapped on a mountain to escape violence.

The US military said in a statement Monday that the strikes outside the city of Sinjar either destroyed or damaged the checkpoints and nearby vehicles that were used by the Islamic State militant group.

At least one of the vehicles destroyed was a Humvee truck, and another was an armed personnel carrier.

The militants have been using U.S. military equipment that they seized from Iraqi Army forces.

All the airstrikes were carried out over a three-hour period Monday.

The Pentagon admits Islamic State fighters have rapidly adapted to air strikes, shifting and changing their movements to become more difficult to target.

Exodus ... A displaced Iraqi man from the Yazidi community carries his daughter as they cross the Iraqi-Syrian border in northern Iraq. Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey worked together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. Source: AFP Source: AFP

FOCUS SHIFTS TO KURDISH PLIGHT

The Obama administration and US allies are preparing to rush antitank weapons and other arms to Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq who are battling Islamic militants near Irbil, officials say.

The CIA has reportedly already rushed small shipments of arms to the Kurds in recent days as US air strikes targeted the militants’ convoys and mortars.