U.S. says conducts air strikes in Iraq near Arbil and Mosul dam

Flight deck crew member confirms the deck is all clear before a F/A-18C Hornet of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA-87) take offs the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), in the Gulf August 12, 2014. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Saturday conducted air strikes in Iraq against Islamic State fighters near the Kurdish capital of Arbil and the Mosul dam, the U.S. Central Command said.

The Mosul dam, Iraq's biggest, fell under control of Islamic State militants earlier this month. Control of the dam could give the Sunni Islamists the ability to flood cities and cut off vital water and electricity supplies.