The British government completed a second air drop of aid to Iraqis Tuesday, AFP reports. The air drops targeted refugees in the northern part of the war torn country.
The air drops distributed water and solar lamps that can be used to charge cell phones, according to AFP. Britain will also deploy fighter jets to gather more information on those fleeing the Islamic State militants.
“We have decided to pre-position a small number of Tornados in the region so that they could, if required, use their excellent surveillance capability to gather better situational awareness to help with humanitarian effort,” a spokeswoman said.
British government officials have said that they currently have no desire to join the U.S. in air strikes on Iraq.
Militants from the Islamic State have taken over large swathes of northern Iraq and are terrorizing its citizens. Earlier this week thousands of Yazidis were trapped atop a mountain after fleeing the jihadists. Kurdish forces have helped many escape the mountains but thousands still remain marooned.
