UK Suspends Aid Drops in Iraq after Situation Improves

Britain has suspended aid drops to civilians trapped on a mountain in northern Iraq after the situation there eased, officials said on Thursday, but it will continue to provide humanitarian support across the region.

A surveillance mission by Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado jets overnight reinforced a U.S. assessment that the number of people under siege on Mount Sinjar by Islamic State (IS) militants was smaller than previously believed, a spokeswoman for Downing Street said.

Britain dropped another consignment of aid overnight Wednesday, the seventh in four nights, bringing the total water delivered to more than 48,000 liters. But a spokeswoman said there were no immediate plans for any more.

"We are currently reviewing the need for additional airdrops, given that there appear to be adequate supplies on the mountain, but we will keep the option open if we establish there is further need," a spokeswoman said.

The update followed the latest meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, which has been meeting daily on the situation in Iraq for the past week.

Earlier, Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the improvement in the situation but said British Tornado jets and Chinook helicopters would remain ready to help the aid effort.

"Our plans need to be flexible enough to respond to this situation," he said.

Britain has sent an adviser to the refugee camp at Dohuk to establish what support is needed there, and Cameron agreed in a conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the need to coordinate the humanitarian effort.

"While the situation on Mount Sinjar is better than we had feared, and a rescue mission now looks far less likely, we will continue to monitor this situation closely with our U.S. partners and Kurdish forces," the spokeswoman said.

She added: "The need for humanitarian support across northern Iraq remains acute with around 850,000 people displaced from their homes and a number of towns dealing with a massive influx of refugees."

British forces are also transporting military supplies for Kurdish forces fighting IS militants, including equipment provided from eastern Europe.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will use Friday's meeting of European Union foreign ministers to press for better coordination of aid and military supplies to Iraq, the spokeswoman added.

U.S. President Barack Obama declared on Thursday that U.S. air strikes had broken the siege of Mount Sinjar, but said they would continue against IS extremists if they threaten U.S. personnel and facilities in the region.