Militants’ Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over, Pentagon Says

[Purveyor]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials said late Wednesday that United States airstrikes and Kurdish fighters had broken the siege on Mount Sinjar, allowing thousands of the Yazidis trapped there to escape.

An initial report from about a dozen Marines and Special Operations forces who arrived on Tuesday and spent 24 hours on the northern Iraqi mountain said that “the situation is much more manageable,” a senior Defense official said in an interview.

“A rescue effort now is much more unlikely,” the official said.

Defense officials could not say how many Yazidis remained on the mountain, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was expected to make a statement later Wednesday night.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/14/world/middleeast/iraq-yazidi-refugees.html

[Purveyor]

1. Guardian UK: Iraq Evacuation Of Yazidis On Hold As US Says Situation Has Stabilised

Iraq Evacuation Of Yazidis On Hold As US Says Situation Has Stabilised

theguardian.com, Wednesday 13 August 2014 21.05 EDT

The Obama administration has ruled out for now a risky US military mission to rescue thousands of Iraqis stranded on a northern Iraqi mountain that has been besieged by Islamic extremists.

After a small complement of special forces and US aid workers landed on Mount Sinjar to assess the situation of the Iraqi Yazidis – who for days have received air drops of food, water and medicine – the Pentagon said things were not as bad as initially feared. “An evacuation mission is far less likely,” said Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, late on Wednesday.

US humanitarian aid drops would continue, Kirby said, but for now US planes or troops would not come to rescue the remaining Yazidis from the mountaintop terrain that has provided a harsh refuge.

Kirby stopped short of declaring that the siege of Mount Sinjar was over after four different US air strikes on Isis positions since Saturday. US officials, when asked whether they consider the siege to be broken, would not use that language.

more...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/14/iraq-evacuation-of-yazidis-on-hold-as-us-says-situation-has-stabilised

[ballyhoo]

2. I wish I could believe the Defense Department, but

I don't, which why I come here to see a lot of accounts.

[blm]

3. Good to hear. Hate that it had to take US forces, but, still...good to hear.

.

[Javaman]

4. Well that's good. now can our troops come home?

lololol sorry I crack myself up sometimes.