Islamic State ‘defeated’ by Kurds in Sinjar

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said Sinjar had been liberated, which would have a “big impact” on efforts to re-take Mosul from IS.

When IS militants over-ran Sinjar in August 2014, thousands of Yazidis were killed, taken prisoner or raped, while others fled to the mountains, where they spent days without food or water.

On this occasion, Yazidis, considered devil worshippers by IS, joined 7,500 Kurdish fighters as they closed in on enemy positions after a night of air strikes.

The capture of Sinjar could also have implications for Islamic State’s hold on Raqqa, the extremist group’s de facto capital in Syria.

War

In Sinjar, women fighters from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPJ) took part in the battle, backed by the Syrian Kurdish YPG, which has been at war with Islamic State since the fall of the town.

Many Yazidis lost faith in Massoud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party when its forces failed to protect them from IS last year.

A Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) came to their rescue, evacuating thousands of Yazidis stranded on the Sinjar mountains and establishing a permanent base there.

Riot

The plight of the Yazidis in Sinjar was witnessed by Foreign Correspondent Jonathan Rugman in August 2014 (watch video below).

He travelled over the mountains in an Iraqi army helicopter which was distributing aid and rescuing those fleeing IS. When the helicopter touched down, it almost triggered a riot, with desperate Yazidis clambering to escape in searing heat.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Yazidis had been trapped on bare mountainside for up to 10 days. The helicopter managed to rescue 25 of them.