Following the airstrikes conducted by the US warplanes over several Islamic State strongholds around Sinjar, the Kurdish forces have reportedly been able to rescue over 10,000 Yazidis trapped in the mountains.
Reports note that at least 10,000 refugees, who have been stranded in the mountains since last Sunday after the Islamic State pushed out the Kurdish peshmerge forces from the town, have now been rescued.
Kurdish news source Rudaw reported that medical teams and aid organisations in Zakho are now assisting the rescued.
"We have also cleared about 30 kilometers of the ISIL forces in order to open a road for those families," the report quoted Ashti Kocher, Zakho's security chief.
The rescued Yazidi famiilies will later be sent to Rojava near Syria, which is under the control of Kurdish forces, known as the The People's Protection Units (YPG).
Rescued Yazidis Recount Horror
For the rescued families, the horror of having to see their loved ones die of hunger and thrist is still very much real.
"With my own eyes, I saw dogs feeding off dead bodies," a Yazidi man named Tariq told CNN.
Descendants of Kurds and followers of an ancient pre-Islamic religion, Yazidis have been persecuted for centuries for their religious beliefs, which many in the Islamic world consider as 'devil worship'.
As recounted by Tariq, who lost his father in the Sinjar mountains, many died in the extreme heat, without anything to eat or drink.
Tariq said he counted between 500 to 1,000 bodies of both children and the elderly.
As per United Nations estimates, over 50,000 people have been trapped in the mountains, in dire need of assistance.
While the US fighter jets were bombarding Islamic State, American aircraft also dropped thousands of gallons of drinking water and 8,000 packaged meals to Yazidis in the Sinjar mountains.
President Barack Obama stated the airdrops were made at the request of the Iraqi government.
