Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014): Difference between revisions

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Reverting what is not in the sources, non-encycloidic timeline and it finished on the 19th with a partial ISIL victory. For example, source says 100,000 PEPLE were displaced from Ninevah province, not 100,000 Christians. Leaving some useful info
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* Gray – Insurgent-controlled territory
* Gray – Insurgent-controlled territory
* Red – Iraqi-controlled territory
* Red – Iraqi-controlled territory
* Yellow – Kurdish controlled territory
* Yellow – Kurdish-controlled territory
For a map of the current military situation in Iraq, see [[Template:Iraqi insurgency detailed map|here]].
For a map of the current military situation in Iraq, see [[Template:Iraqi insurgency detailed map|here]].
| date = 1{{ndash}}9 August 2014 (between 7 and 9 days)
| date = 1{{ndash}}19 August 2014 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=08|day1=1|year1=2014|month2=08|day2=19|year2=2014}})
| place = [[Iraq]]i [[Nineveh Province|Nineveh]] and [[Kirkuk Province|Kirkuk]] provinces
| place = [[Nineveh Province|Nineveh]] and [[Kirkuk Province|Kirkuk]] provinces
| status= Partial IS victory
| result=
* IS captures Sinjar, the Mosul Dam, and eight other towns
* IS captures Sinjar, the Mosul Dam, and seven other towns
* IS besieges Kurdish Yazidi refugees on Mount Sinjar
* IS besieges Kurdish Yazidi refugees on Mount Sinjar, but the siege is broken by Kurdish forces
* Peshmerga and Iraqi special forces recapture the Mosul Dam and two towns
* Peshmerga and Iraqi special forces recapture the Mosul Dam, Mount Zartak and two towns
* IS repels Iraqi military attack on Tikrit
* IS repels Iraqi military attack on Tikrit
|combatant1 = {{nowrap|{{flagdeco|Iraq}} '''[[Iraq|Republic of Iraq]]'''}}
|combatant1 = {{nowrap|{{flagdeco|Iraq}} '''[[Iraq|Republic of Iraq]]'''}}
Line 68: Line 68:
|casualties1 = 14 killed<ref name="Al Arabiya English" />
|casualties1 = 14 killed<ref name="Al Arabiya English" />
|casualties2 = 100 killed<br/>160 injured<ref name=Basnews>{{cite web|title=92 IS Militants Killed in Zumar|url=http://basnews.com/en/News/Details/92-IS-Militants-Killed-in-Zumar/32490|website=Basnews|accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref><br/>38 captured<ref name="Al Arabiya English">{{cite web|title=Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/02/Army-Jihadists-kill-30-in-fighting-south-of-Baghdad-.html|website=Al Arabiya|accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref>
|casualties2 = 100 killed<br/>160 injured<ref name=Basnews>{{cite web|title=92 IS Militants Killed in Zumar|url=http://basnews.com/en/News/Details/92-IS-Militants-Killed-in-Zumar/32490|website=Basnews|accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref><br/>38 captured<ref name="Al Arabiya English">{{cite web|title=Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/02/Army-Jihadists-kill-30-in-fighting-south-of-Baghdad-.html|website=Al Arabiya|accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref>
|casualties3 = 3,000–5,000 Yazidis killed<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/un-confirms-massacre-of-thousands-of-yazidis-by-jihadis-in-cold-blood-30665671.html|title=UN confirms massacre of thousands of Yazidis by jihadis in 'cold blood'|work=Independent.ie|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> 5,000-7,000 Yazidis abducted<ref name=Mail14-10-14/>
|casualties3 = 3,000–5,000 Yazidis killed<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/un-confirms-massacre-of-thousands-of-yazidis-by-jihadis-in-cold-blood-30665671.html|title=UN confirms massacre of thousands of Yazidis by jihadis in 'cold blood'|work=Independent.ie|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> 5,000-7,000 Yazidis abducted<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2792552/full-horror-yazidis-didn-t-escape-mount-sinjar-confirms-5-000-men-executed-7-000-women-kept-sex-slaves.html|title=UN confirms 5,000 Yazidis men were executed and 7,000 women are now sex slaves - Daily Mail Online|work=Mail Online}}</ref>
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox 2014 Iraq conflict}}
{{Campaignbox 2014 Iraq conflict}}


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The August 2014 '''Northern Iraq offensive''' was part of an ongoing [[offensive (military)|offensive]] military movement by the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]], [[Islamic extremist]] group [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL; also known as ''Islamic State of Iraq and Syria'' [ISIS] and self declared as ''the Islamic State'' [IS]) against [[Kurds|Kurdish]]-held territory in northern [[Iraq]]. ISIL has proclaimed a [[caliphate]]—a government based on [[Sharia|Islamic religious law]]—and has gained notoriety for its abduction (primarily of children) and executions (adults) of non-Muslims, which has led to a large exodus of the region's [[Yazidi]] and [[Christianity in Iraq|Christian]] population.
Between 1 and 9 August 2014, the '''[[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) expanded the northern [[Iraq]]i territories under their control.''' <br>In the region north and west from [[Mosul]], ISIL conquered [[Zumar]], [[Sinjar]], Wana, [[Mosul Dam]], [[Tel Keppe]] and Kocho, in the regions south and east of Mosul the towns [[Bakhdida]], [[Karamlish]], [[Bartella]] and [[Makhmur, Iraq|Makhmour]].


Early in the offensive, ISIL attacked the largely Yazidi city of [[Sinjar]], which prompted tens of thousands of Yazidis to take refuge on Mount Sinjar, where they lacked basic necessities such as food and water. The [[Sinjar massacre|killing of 500–2,000 Yazidis in the attack]] and the threat of an even larger massacre—or death from starvation or dehydration—of those trapped on Mount Sinjar prompted [[2014 American intervention in Iraq|intervention by the United States]] in the conflict on 8 August. U.S. airstrikes on ISIL militants led to some of the ISIL-controlled territory being recaptured in subsequent weeks.
This August ISIL offensive resulted in 100,000 Iraqi Christians driven from their homes, 200,000 Yazidi civilians driven from their homes in the city of [[Sinjar]], 5,000 Yazidi men massacred of whom 500–2,000 in the [[Sinjar massacre]], 5,000 Yazidi women enslaved, and a [[Military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|war of several countries against ISIL]].


50,000 of Sinjar's [[Yazidis]] had taken refuge in the adjacent [[Sinjar Mountains]], where they lacked food, water and other basic necessities. 35,000 of them could be evacuated within several weeks, after [[American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)|intervention by the United States bombarding ISIL positions]] and [[Sinjar massacre#Kurdish reaction: safe corridor and aid|efforts from Kurdish PKK, YPG and/or Peshmerga forces]], and some of the ISIL-controlled territory was retaken.
== Background ==
== Background ==
{{main|Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)}}
{{main|Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)}}
In June 2014, [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) had conquered significant territories in northern [[Iraq]], including the cities of [[Mosul]], Iraq’s second greatest town of over a million residents, and [[Tikrit]], 200&nbsp;km south of Mosul.
In June 2014, [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) had conquered significant territories in northern [[Iraq]], including the cities of [[Mosul]], Iraq’s second greatest town of over a million residents, and [[Tikrit]], 200&nbsp;km south of Mosul. While Iraqi federal military forces fled the advancing ISIL troops, Kurdish [[Peshmerga]] fighters took control of a wide territory in northern [[Iraq]] outside the [[Iraqi Kurdistan|semi-autonomous Kurdish region]] from the federal Iraqi government.<ref name=Reut9-8>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/09/us-iraq-security-idUSKBN0G808J20140809|title=Obama says tackling Iraq’s insurgency will take time |work=Reuters|date=9 August 2014|accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref><ref name=arab2-8-14>{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/02/Army-Jihadists-kill-30-in-fighting-south-of-Baghdad-.html|title=Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages|date=2 August 2014|publisher=English.alarabiya.net|accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref>
<br>While Iraqi federal military forces fled for the advancing ISIL troops, Kurdish [[Peshmerga]] fighters took over the control of a wide territory in northern [[Iraq]] outside the [[Iraqi Kurdistan|semi-autonomous Kurdish region]] from the federal Iraqi government.<ref name=Reut9-8>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/09/us-iraq-security-idUSKBN0G808J20140809|title=Obama says tackling Iraq’s insurgency will take time |work=Reuters|date=9 August 2014|accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref><ref name=arab2-8-14>{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/02/Army-Jihadists-kill-30-in-fighting-south-of-Baghdad-.html|title=Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages|date=2 August 2014|publisher=English.alarabiya.net|accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref>


== Offensive ==
== ISIL conquests, brutalizing civilians ==
=== Insurgent advance ===
{{also|Timeline of events related to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant#August 2014}}
{{Main|Battle of Zumar|Sinjar massacre}}
* '''1 August'''
Friday 1 August 2014, ISIL attacked a [[peshmerga]] post in [[Zumar]], 40&nbsp;km northwest of [[Mosul]], in the peshmerga-controlled zone of northern Iraq, and a nearby oil winning facility and the nearby [[Mosul Dam]], Iraq’s largest [[dam]] and important supplier of electricity and water.<ref name=arab2-8-14/><ref name=NYT3-8-14>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/world/middleeast/iraq.html|title=Sunni Extremists in Iraq Seize 3 Towns From Kurds and Threaten Major Dam|work=The New York Times|last1=Arango|first1=Tim|date=3 August 2014|accessdate=20 August 2014}}</ref>
After a three-day battle that started on 1 August, ISIS captured the town of Zumar and its nearby oil field. The [[Mosul Dam]], Iraq’s largest [[dam]] and an important supplier of electricity and water, was also attacked. The battle for Zumar left 100 ISIL fighters and 14 Kurdish fighters dead, according to Kurdish sources.<ref name=arab2-8-14/><ref name=NYT3-8-14>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/world/middleeast/iraq.html|title=Sunni Extremists in Iraq Seize 3 Towns From Kurds and Threaten Major Dam|work=The New York Times|last1=Arango|first1=Tim|date=3 August 2014|accessdate=20 August 2014}}</ref>
Peshmerga fought ISIL off, killing 100 ISIL fighters according to Kurdish sources but also losing 14 peshmerga fighters.<ref name=arab2-8-14/>
* '''2–3 August'''
{{also|Sinjar massacre|Battle of Zumar}}
Sunday 3 August, ISIL, with heavy weaponry seized from the Iraqi federal army,<ref name=asharq5-8-14>{{cite web|url=http://www.aawsat.net/2014/08/article55335116|title=Kurds, Islamic State clash near Kurdish regional capital: Kurdish official|publisher=Asharq al-Awsat|date=6 August 2014|accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref><ref name=Reut9-8/>
in the darkness of morning seized first the town of '''Zumar''' and then '''[[Sinjar]] ''' (90&nbsp;km southwest of Zumar), while routing from those towns the Kurdish peshmerga troops that since June more or less controlled the region.<ref name=NYT3-8-14/>
A spokesman of citizens fled from Sinjar said, that 250 peshmerga in Sinjar had withdrawn from Sinjar in the night, leaving the civilians unprotected.<ref name=glp-29aug14>{{cite news|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/140827/if-it-wasn-t-the-kurdish-fighters-we-would-have-died-there|title='If it wasn’t for the Kurdish fighters, we would have died up there'|last=Shelton|first=Tracey|date=29 August 2014|publisher=Global Post|accessdate=2 September 2014}}</ref>
<br>The Sinjar conquest was reportedly accompanied by a massacre of 500–2,000 [[Yazidis|Yazidi]] men, the selling of women into slavery, and 200,000 civilians fleeing Sinjar, of whom 50,000 into the [[Sinjar Mountains]] (see [[Sinjar massacre]]).


During this time, ISIL forces advanced into and captured the religiously mixed town of [[Sinjar]].<ref name=NYT3-8-14/> 250 Kurdish peshmerga fighters in Sinjar had withdrawn from Sinjar in the night, leaving the civilians unprotected.<ref name=glp-29aug14>{{cite news|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/140827/if-it-wasn-t-the-kurdish-fighters-we-would-have-died-there|title='If it wasn’t for the Kurdish fighters, we would have died up there'|last=Shelton|first=Tracey|date=29 August 2014|publisher=Global Post|accessdate=2 September 2014}}</ref> According to local officials, the latest advance nearly purged northwestern Iraq of its [[Christian]] population.<ref name="online.wsj.com" /> UN officials said an estimated 200,000 new refugees, including Christians and [[Yazidi]], fled to Kurdistan,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/07/isis-offensive-iraq-christian-exodus|title=Iraq's largest Christian town abandoned as Isis advance continues|work=the Guardian|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> with 130,000 fleeing to [[Dohuk]] or to Erbil. At least 40,000 members of the [[Yazidi]] sect took refuge on [[Mount Sinjar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/07/40000-iraqis-stranded-mountain-isis-death-threat|title=40,000 Iraqis stranded on mountain as Isis jihadists threaten death|work=the Guardian|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> According to some reports as many as 500 Yazidis were massacred in the ISIS attack on Sinjar and its aftermath,<ref name=cnn>[http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/06/world/meast/iraq-crisis-minority-persecution/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 Iraq: 'Hundreds of Yazidi minority slaughtered']. CNN.</ref> The same day Sinjar fell, ISIL captured the town of Wana, between Zumar and Mosul,<ref name=NYT3-8-14/> as well as the [[Mosul Dam]].<ref name=arab3-8-14>{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/03/Islamic-States-captures-Iraqi-town-and-nearby-oil-field-.html|title=ISIS takes over Iraq’s biggest dam|publisher=English.alarabiya.net|date=3 August 2014| accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref>
ISIL on 3 August also took control of the oil facility near Zumar.<ref name=arab2-8-14/><ref name=NYT3-8-14/>
<br>Later that day, ISIL also captured the town of '''Wana''' between Zumar and Mosul.<ref name=NYT3-8-14/> There were conflicting reports about whether the [[Mosul Dam]] was still in Kurdish hands<ref name=NYT3-8-14/> or captured by ISIL.<ref name=arab3-8-14>{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/03/Islamic-States-captures-Iraqi-town-and-nearby-oil-field-.html|title=ISIS takes over Iraq’s biggest dam|publisher=English.alarabiya.net|date=3 August 2014| accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref>
* '''4 August'''
ISIL surrounded the village of '''Kocho''' near the [[Sinjar Mountains]], demanding its Yazidi residents convert or die.<ref name=Star16-8-14>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/08/16/isis_militants_massacre_80_yazidis_in_north_iraq.html|title=Militants massacre 80 Yazidis; airstrikes target insurgents around Iraq’s largest dam|work=thestar.com|date=16 August 2014|accessdate=19 March 2015}}</ref>


On 6 August, ISIL entered [[Tel Keppe|Tal Keif]], some 10 miles north of Mosul in [[Nineveh province]] and took over [[Qara Qosh]], [[Bartella]], [[Karamlish|Karemlash]],<ref name="online.wsj.com">''(subscription needed)''{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/articles/iraqi-militants-seize-christian-villages-1407404503|title=Barack Obama Approves Airstrikes on Iraq, Airdrops Aid|date=8 August 2014|work=WSJ|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> and [[Makhmur District|Makhmour]] on the next day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2014/08/pictures-kurdish-frontline-iraq-20148128625609338.html|title=In Pictures: The Kurdish frontline in Iraq|publisher=Aljazeera.com|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> At this point, ISIL also reached 40 kilometers southwest of [[Erbil]], the Kurdish regional capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aawsat.net/2014/08/article55335116|title=Kurds, Islamic State clash near Kurdish regional capital: Kurdish official|publisher=Aawsat.net|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref>
* '''6 August'''
ISIL on 6 August advanced up to 40&nbsp;km southwest of [[Erbil]], the capital of autonomous region [[Iraqi Kurdistan]].<ref name=asharq5-8-14/>


=== Kurdish counter-attack and U.S. air strikes ===
* '''7 August'''
{{Main|2014 American intervention in Iraq|Battle for Mosul Dam|Timeline of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant events}}
{{further|Persecution of Yazidis by ISIL#Massacres, human trafficking, and forced exile|Persecution of Assyrians by ISIL}}
On 8 August 2014, the United States conducted [[airstrike]]s, which were directed to stop the advancement of ISIL into Erbil. Two F-18 fighter jets dropped [[laser-guided bomb]]s on [[mobile artillery]] units in Northern Iraq. Strikes continued in subsequent days both around Sinjar (west of Mosul) and near Erbil (east of Mosul).<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/09world/middleeast/iraq.html?_r=1] {{dead link|date=October 2014}}</ref> There was also humanitarian aid airdropped for the civilians trapped in the mountains by American and British planes.<ref name="USAirstrike" /><ref name=BBC-20140808>{{cite news|title=UK planes to drop emergency aid to Iraqi refugees|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28701642|accessdate=8 August 2014|publisher=BBC|date=8 August 2014}}</ref> Britain provided surveillance and refuelling to assist the humanitarian mission.<ref name=BBC-20140808 /> France also moved to provide humanitarian aid to Kurds.
On 7 August, ISIL took control of [[Bakhdida|'''Qaraqosh''' (or Bakhdida)]], the largest [[Christianity in Iraq|Christian]] town of Iraq, 30&nbsp;km southeast of [[Mosul]] and 60&nbsp;km west of [[Erbil]], '''[[Karamlish]]''', 5&nbsp;km from Qaraqosh, [[Tel Keppe|'''Tal Keif''' (Tel Keppe)]], just north of Mosul, and '''[[Bartella]]''', just east of Mosul.<ref name=figaro>[http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2014/08/07/97001-20140807FILWWW00062-irak-des-jihadistes-prennent-la-plus-grande-ville-chretienne-du-pays.php ‘Des djihadistes prennent la plus grande ville chrétienne d'Irak’ (Jihadists take the largest Christian town of Iraq)]. ''Le Figaro'', 7 August 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2015.</ref><ref name="online.wsj.com">''(subscription needed) ''{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/articles/iraqi-militants-seize-christian-villages-1407404503|title=Barack Obama Approves Airstrikes on Iraq, Airdrops Aid|date=8 August 2014|work=WSJ|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref>
<br>Kurdish forces had retreated from Qaraqosh and surrounding area, which caused civilians to flee in panic;<ref name=TWP8-8-14>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/islamic-state-militants-seize-christian-town-in-northern-iraq-thousands-flee/2014/08/07/942a553a-1e2b-11e4-ab7b-696c295ddfd1_story.html?hpid=z1 | agency=''The Washington Post''|title=U.S. airstrikes target Islamic State militants in northern Iraq|date=8 August 2014|accessdate=19 March 2015}}</ref>
the [[Chaldean Catholic Church|Chaldaic]] archbishop of [[Kirkuk]] and [[Sulaymaniyah]], Joseph Thomas, stated that “all inhabitants” of those four cities were fleeing their town.<ref name=figaro/>
<br>On 7 August, ISIL captured also the strategic<ref name=nyt10-8-14/> town of '''[[Makhmur, Iraq|Makhmour]]''',<ref name=aljaz13-8-14>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2014/08/pictures-kurdish-frontline-iraq-20148128625609338.html|title=In Pictures: The Kurdish frontline in Iraq|publisher=Aljazeera.com|date=13 August 2014|accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref> a small town between [[Mosul]] and [[Kirkuk]], 20 miles from [[Erbil]].<ref name=nyt10-8-14/>
<br>There were, again, conflicting remarks—in one newspaper article—as to whether ISIL had ‘seized’ the [[Mosul Dam]] or was making ‘efforts to seize’ it.<ref name=TWP8-8-14/>


⚫
On 10 August, Iraqi Kurds retook Makhmour and al-Gweir, some 27 miles from Erbil with the help of coordinated U.S. airstrikes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/world/middleeast/iraq.html?_r=0|title=Capitalizing|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=16 October 2104}}</ref>
100,000 [[Christian]]s, 25% of Iraq’s Christianity, fled [[Bakhdida]] (Qaraqosh) and neighbouring villages after today’s ISIL invasion, many of them supposedly to [[Iraqi Kurdistan]].<ref name=bbc7aug14/>
According to local officials, this August ISIL advance nearly purged northwestern Iraq of its [[Christian]] population.<ref name="online.wsj.com" /> (See also ‘[[Persecution of Assyrians by ISIL]]’, ‘Assyrians’ being a Christian people in Iraq and Syria.)
Possibly, ISIL this week overran more towns in northwest Iraq, chasing Kurdish peshmerga (= “those who confront death”) troops away.<ref name=asharq5-8-14/><ref name=Reut9-8/>
<br>ISIL ordered the [[Yazidis|Yazidi]] minority in the area to convert to Islam, pay special taxes, or face death, which prompted tens of thousands to flee their homes,<ref name=asharq5-8-14/> not only in Sinjar (see [[Sinjar massacre]]) but for example also 300 Yazidi families in the Iraqi villages of Koja, Hatimiya and Qaboshi.<ref name=Reut9-8/>
<br>(Further details on casualties, murders, abductions of civilians in Sinjar and other villages, in: [[Persecution of Yazidis by ISIL#Massacres, human trafficking, and forced exile]].)


On 11 August, [[Haider al-Abadi]] was nominated as [[Prime Minister of Iraq|Iraq's new Prime Minister]] and he called on Iraqis to unite against the "barbaric" campaign waged by Islamic State militants. At that point, the United States started arming Kurdish forces directly, and France's foreign minister also expressed interest in supporting the Kurds with arms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/france-looking-at-supplying-iraqi-kurds-with-arms-foreign-minister-laurent-fabius-573854?curl=1407765360|title=France Looking at Supplying Iraqi Kurds With Arms: Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius|work=NDTV.com|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref>
* '''7–9 August'''
Before 9 August, ISIL had seized also the '''[[Mosul Dam]]''', 40&nbsp;km northwest of [[Mosul]] on the [[Tigris]] river.<ref name=Reut9-8/>
* '''15 August'''
ISIL moved into the village Kocho, which they had held surrounded since 4 August, shot 80 Yazidi men dead with assault rifles, and abducted their wives and children.<ref name=Star16-8-14/>


On 12 August, an Iraqi military helicopter, piloted by Maj. Gen. Majid Ahmed Saadi, crashed in the mountains while delivering aid and rescuing stranded Yazidi refugees. The helicopter was also carrying Yazidi lawmakers, including Yazidi MP Vian Al Dakhil, and foreign journalists. The general was the only fatality in the crash, while almost all of the passengers were injured.<ref name="helicopter"/>
== Civilian casualties ==
{{further|Sinjar massacre|Persecution of Yazidis by ISIL}}
The UN confirmed in October 2014 that ISIL, “sweeping” through not further defined territory inhabited by [[Yazidis]] in August, had gunned down 5,000 [[Yazidis|Yazidi]] male civilians in a series of massacres, and detained 5–7,000 Yazidi women to be sold as slaves or given to jihadists.<ref name=Mail14-10-14>{{cite news|last1=Hopkins|first1=Steve|title=Full horror of the Yazidis who didn’t escape Mount Sinjar: UN confirms 5,000 men were executed and 7,000 women are now kept as sex slaves|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2792552/full-horror-yazidis-didn-t-escape-mount-sinjar-confirms-5-000-men-executed-7-000-women-kept-sex-slaves.html|publisher=''The [[Daily Mail]]''|date=14 October 2014|accessdate=13 March 2015}}</ref>


On 14 August, U.S airstrikes and Kurdish ground forces broke the ISIS siege of Mount Sinjar, allowing thousands of Yazidi refugees to escape.<ref name=siege>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/14/world/middleeast/iraq-yazidi-refugees.html?_r=0 |title=Militants’ Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over, Pentagon Says|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=16 October 2104}}</ref> The same day, [[Nouri al-Maliki]] gave up his attempt to remain [[Prime Minister of Iraq]].<ref>[http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/08/14/iraqs_nouri_almaliki_agrees_to_step_aside_state_tv_reports.html Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki agrees to step aside], ''Toronto Star''</ref>
(Some further details on casualties, murders, abductions of civilians in Sinjar and other villages, in: [[Persecution of Yazidis by ISIL#Massacres, human trafficking, and forced exile]].)


100,000 Iraqi Christians were forced to flee their homes and leave all their property behind after ISIS invaded [[Bakhdida|Qaraqosh]] and surrounding towns in the [[Nineveh Governorate]] on 7 August.<ref name=bbc7aug14>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28686998|title=Iraq Christians flee as Islamic State takes Qaraqosh|work=BBC News|date=7 August 2014|accessdate=21 March 2015}}</ref>
On 16 August, militants massacred 80 Yazidi men and kidnapped their wives and children in the village of Kocho. The killings reportedly came after ISIS forces surrounded the village for 12 days and during that time made unsuccessful attempts to convince the villagers to [[Religious conversion|convert]].<ref name=largest>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/08/16/isis_militants_massacre_80_yazidis_in_north_iraq.html|title=Militants massacre 80 Yazidis; airstrikes target insurgents around Iraq’s largest dam|work=thestar.com|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref>


The same day, air strikes were conducted against insurgent positions at the Mosul dam.<ref name=largest /> The next morning, Kurdish forces, supported by U.S. and Iraqi air strikes, attacked the dam. They quickly captured the eastern part of the dam, but fighting continued.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/17/kurdish-forces-isis-mosul-dam-iraq|title=Kurdish forces take parts of Mosul dam from Isis fighters|work=the Guardian|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> By the evening, Kurdish and Iraqi forces had recaptured most of the facility, but were still in the process of removing mines and booby traps left by the insurgents. U.S. warplanes destroyed or damaged 19 insurgent vehicles and one checkpoint during the battle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28826349|title=Kurdish forces 'break IS hold on Mosul dam'|work=BBC News|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> On 18 August, Iraqi and Kurdish officials claimed their forces had fully secured the dam and its complex, however, fighters on the front reported they were still being slowed down by mines and a new round of air strikes hit near the area.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/iraq-mosul-dam.html?_r=0 |title=Iraq Says It Has Retaken Mosul Dam|title=Capitalizing|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=16 October 2104}}</ref> However, ISIS leaders denied that government and Kurdish forces had retaken the dam.{{Citation needed|date= March 2015}}<ref>[http://www.startribune.com/world/271638311.html] {{dead link|date=October 2014}}</ref>
== U.S., U.K., peshmerga and Iraqi reactions ==
=== Arming Kurds ===
{{main|American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)#Military aid to the Kurds}}
On 5 August, the [[United States]] began with direct supply of munitions to the Iraqi Kurdish [[Peshmerga]] forces and, with Iraq’s agreement, the shipment of weapons to the Kurds.<ref>{{cite web|last=Khalilzad|first=Zalmay|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/zalmay-khalilzad-to-fight-the-islamic-state-kurdish-and-iraqi-forces-need-expedited-aid/2014/08/05/746d8680-1c24-11e4-ae54-0cfe1f974f8a_story.html|title=To fight the Islamic State, Kurdish and Iraqi forces need expedited aid|publisher=''The Washington Post''|date=5 August 2014|accessdate=8 November 2014}}</ref>
=== Humanitarian airdrops ===
{{main|American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)#Humanitarian efforts}}
On 7 August, the U.S. started airdropping food and water for Yazidi refugees stranded in the [[Sinjar Mountains]].<ref name=abc7Aug14>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/us-begins-humanitarian-airdrops-iraq/story?id=24884633|title=Obama Authorizes Air Strikes in Iraq – ABC News|publisher=ABC News|date=7 August 2014|accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref>
On 10 August, also the [[United Kingdom]] began airdropping humanitarian aid in northern Iraq.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28729361|title=Iraq conflict: US in new air strikes on militants|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=14 March 2015|date=10 August 2014}}</ref>
=== Airstrikes ===
{{main|American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)#Chronology}}
On 8 August, the U.S. started to conduct airstrikes on ISIL, first around [[Erbil]] to stop ISIL’s advancemant into Erbil.
Starting on 9 August airstrikes also took place around the [[Sinjar Mountains]].
=== Kurds reclaim territory ===
On 10 August, encouraged by American airstrikes, Kurdish [[peshmerga]] forces purportedly retook the strategic towns Gwer and [[Makhmur, Iraq|Makhmour]], both about 20 miles from [[Erbil]].<ref name=nyt10-8-14>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/world/middleeast/iraq.html?_r=1 ‘Capitalizing on U.S. Bombing, Kurds Retake Iraqi Towns’]. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2015.</ref>
American fighter jets bombarded areas in Makhmour, ISIL fighters abandoned their positions, and Kurdish peshmerga together with [[Kurdistan Workers' Party|PKK]] fighters and civilian volunteers from the area reclaimed the village.<ref name=aljaz13-8-14/>


⚫
===Assault on Tikrit===
=== Kurds and U.S. rescue Yazidis from Mount Sinjar ===
⚫
On the morning of 19 August, Iraqi government troops and allied militiamen launched a major operation, to retake the city of [[Tikrit]] from Sunni militants. The military push started early in the morning from the south and southwest of the city, which lies around 160 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.<ref name="Tikrit">{{cite web|url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/143868-iraqi-forces-launch-major-push-to-retake-tikrit|title=Iraqi Forces Launch Major Push to Retake Tikrit|work=Naharnet|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> However, by the afternoon, the offensive had been repelled by the insurgents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/19/isis-fighters-iraq-army-fails-tikrit|title=Isis fighters show strength as they repel Iraqi army's attempt to retake Tikrit|work=the Guardian|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> Additionally, the military lost its positions in the southern area of the city it had captured a few weeks earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iraq-islamic-state-tikrit-20140819-story.html|title=Iraqis battle Islamic State in Tikrit; situation in Mosul stable|date=19 August 2014|work=latimes.com|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref>
{{main|Sinjar massacre#Aftermath: partial rescue stranded Yazidis}}
By 13 August, bombarding Americans and [[Sinjar massacre#Kurdish reaction: safe corridor and aid|efforts of Kurds from Iraq, Syria and Turkey]] had enabled the evacuation of presumably 35,000 of the 50,000 Yazidis stranded in the [[Sinjar Mountains]].


⚫
==Reactions==
=== Reclaiming Mosul Dam ===
⚫
[[File:Jielbeaumadier manif kurdes ei 1 paris 2014.jpeg|thumb|left|Demonstration in Paris.]]
{{also|Battle for Mosul Dam|American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)#Retaking Mosul Dam}}
From 16 until 18 August, the U.S. conducted 35 air strikes against ISIL positions at the strategically critical [[Mosul Dam]]. That facilitated Kurdish and Iraqi forces to move swiftly and in good cooperation around Mosul Dam.<ref name=NYT18Aug14/><ref name=Star16-8-14/>
<br>17 August in the morning, Kurdish forces, supported by U.S. and Iraqi air strikes, attacked the dam. They quickly captured the eastern part of the dam, but fighting continued.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/17/kurdish-forces-isis-mosul-dam-iraq|title=Kurdish forces take parts of Mosul dam from Isis fighters|work=the Guardian|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref>
By the evening, Kurdish and Iraqi forces had recaptured most of the facility, but were still in the process of removing mines and booby traps left by the insurgents. U.S. warplanes destroyed or damaged 19 insurgent vehicles and one checkpoint during the battle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28826349|title=Kurdish forces 'break IS hold on Mosul dam'|work=BBC News|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref>

⚫
On 18 August, Kurdish [[peshmerga]] ground troops, with the help of Iraqi Special Forces, overran ISIL militants and reclaimed the Mosul Dam, American President Obama said.<ref name=NYT18Aug14>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/iraq-mosul-dam.html?_r=0 |title=Troops in Iraq Rout Sunni Militants From a Key Dam |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=18 August 2014|accessdate=20 March 2015}}</ref>

⚫
=== Iraqi move on Tikrit ===
⚫
[[File:Jielbeaumadier manif kurdes ei 1 paris 2014.jpeg|thumb|right|Demonstration in Paris 23 August 2014, to support Kurds and Yazidis threatened by ISIL]]
⚫
On the morning of 19 August, Iraqi government troops and allied militiamen launched an operation to retake the city of [[Tikrit]] from ISIL. The military push started early in the morning from the south and southwest of the city, which lies around 160 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.<ref name=guar19-8-14/><ref name="Tikrit">{{cite web|url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/143868-iraqi-forces-launch-major-push-to-retake-tikrit|title=Iraqi Forces Launch Major Push to Retake Tikrit|work=Naharnet|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref> However, by the afternoon, the offensive had been repelled by ISIL.<ref name=guar19-8-14>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/19/isis-fighters-iraq-army-fails-tikrit|title=Isis fighters show strength as they repel Iraqi army's attempt to retake Tikrit|work=the Guardian|date=19 August 2014 |accessdate=20 March 2015}}</ref> Also, the Iraqi military lost its positions in the southern area of the city it had captured a few weeks earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iraq-islamic-state-tikrit-20140819-story.html|title=Iraqis battle Islamic State in Tikrit; situation in Mosul stable|date=19 August 2014|work=latimes.com|accessdate=16 October 2014}}</ref>

⚫
== Reactions ==
Multiple protests and demonstrations were organized around the world to support Kurdish and Yazidi people, particularly in [[Paris]].
Multiple protests and demonstrations were organized around the world to support Kurdish and Yazidi people, particularly in [[Paris]].


== See also ==
==See also==
{{portal|Iraq|Syrian Civil War|Current events}}
{{portal|Iraq|Syrian Civil War|Current events}}
* [[Sinjar offensive]]
* [[Sinjar offensive]]
Line 174: Line 120:
* [[Persecution of Yazidis by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]]
* [[Persecution of Yazidis by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]]
{{clear}}
{{clear}}

⚫
==References==
⚫
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://understandingwar.org/iraq-blog Iraq updates – Institute for the Study of War]
* [http://understandingwar.org/iraq-blog Iraq updates – Institute for the Study of War]

⚫
==References==
⚫
{{Reflist}}


{{Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}}
{{Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}}

Revision as of 20:08, 29 March 2015

Not to be confused with Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014).

Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014)
Part of the Iraqi insurgency (2011–present) and
the Military intervention against ISIL

Situation in Iraq, as of September 5, 2018:
  • Gray – Insurgent-controlled territory
  • Red – Iraqi-controlled territory
  • Yellow – Kurdish-controlled territory
For a map of the current military situation in Iraq, see here.
Date1–19 August 2014 (2 weeks and 4 days)
Location
Nineveh and Kirkuk provinces
Status

Partial IS victory

  • IS captures Sinjar, the Mosul Dam, and seven other towns
  • IS besieges Kurdish Yazidi refugees on Mount Sinjar, but the siege is broken by Kurdish forces
  • Peshmerga and Iraqi special forces recapture the Mosul Dam, Mount Zartak and two towns
  • IS repels Iraqi military attack on Tikrit
Belligerents

Republic of Iraq

United States United States[3]

Kurdistan

Assyrian people Assyrian/Syriac forces

Islamic State (IS)[17]
Commanders and leaders

Haider al-Abadi
Ali Ghaidan
Ahmed Saadi †[18]
File:Icpsymbol.svg Hamid Majid Mousa

Masoud Barzani
Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa
Mustafa Said Qadir
Murat Karayılan
Cemil Bayık
Salih Muslim
Sipan Hamo
Polat Can
Gewargis Hanna

Yonadam Kanna		 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Strength

25,000[19]–30,000[20] (two army divisions)
10,000 federal police
30,000 local police
2,000 Iranian Quds Force[21]
1,000 U.S. Troops[22]

190,000–790,000[23]		 Islamic State: Around 100,000 fighters in Iraq (according to Iraqi Kurdistan Chief of Staff.)[24]
Casualties and losses
14 killed[25] 100 killed
160 injured[26]
38 captured[25]
3,000–5,000 Yazidis killed[27] 5,000-7,000 Yazidis abducted[28]

The August 2014 Northern Iraq offensive was part of an ongoing offensive military movement by the Sunni, Islamic extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL; also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] and self declared as the Islamic State [IS]) against Kurdish-held territory in northern Iraq. ISIL has proclaimed a caliphate—a government based on Islamic religious law—and has gained notoriety for its abduction (primarily of children) and executions (adults) of non-Muslims, which has led to a large exodus of the region's Yazidi and Christian population.

Early in the offensive, ISIL attacked the largely Yazidi city of Sinjar, which prompted tens of thousands of Yazidis to take refuge on Mount Sinjar, where they lacked basic necessities such as food and water. The killing of 500–2,000 Yazidis in the attack and the threat of an even larger massacre—or death from starvation or dehydration—of those trapped on Mount Sinjar prompted intervention by the United States in the conflict on 8 August. U.S. airstrikes on ISIL militants led to some of the ISIL-controlled territory being recaptured in subsequent weeks.

Background

Main article: Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)

In June 2014, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had conquered significant territories in northern Iraq, including the cities of Mosul, Iraq’s second greatest town of over a million residents, and Tikrit, 200 km south of Mosul. While Iraqi federal military forces fled the advancing ISIL troops, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of a wide territory in northern Iraq outside the semi-autonomous Kurdish region from the federal Iraqi government.[29][30]

Offensive

Insurgent advance

Main articles: Battle of Zumar and Sinjar massacre

After a three-day battle that started on 1 August, ISIS captured the town of Zumar and its nearby oil field. The Mosul Dam, Iraq’s largest dam and an important supplier of electricity and water, was also attacked. The battle for Zumar left 100 ISIL fighters and 14 Kurdish fighters dead, according to Kurdish sources.[30][31]

During this time, ISIL forces advanced into and captured the religiously mixed town of Sinjar.[31] 250 Kurdish peshmerga fighters in Sinjar had withdrawn from Sinjar in the night, leaving the civilians unprotected.[32] According to local officials, the latest advance nearly purged northwestern Iraq of its Christian population.[33] UN officials said an estimated 200,000 new refugees, including Christians and Yazidi, fled to Kurdistan,[34] with 130,000 fleeing to Dohuk or to Erbil. At least 40,000 members of the Yazidi sect took refuge on Mount Sinjar.[35] According to some reports as many as 500 Yazidis were massacred in the ISIS attack on Sinjar and its aftermath,[36] The same day Sinjar fell, ISIL captured the town of Wana, between Zumar and Mosul,[31] as well as the Mosul Dam.[37]

On 6 August, ISIL entered Tal Keif, some 10 miles north of Mosul in Nineveh province and took over Qara Qosh, Bartella, Karemlash,[33] and Makhmour on the next day.[38] At this point, ISIL also reached 40 kilometers southwest of Erbil, the Kurdish regional capital.[39]

Kurdish counter-attack and U.S. air strikes

Main articles: 2014 American intervention in Iraq, Battle for Mosul Dam, and Timeline of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant events

On 8 August 2014, the United States conducted airstrikes, which were directed to stop the advancement of ISIL into Erbil. Two F-18 fighter jets dropped laser-guided bombs on mobile artillery units in Northern Iraq. Strikes continued in subsequent days both around Sinjar (west of Mosul) and near Erbil (east of Mosul).[40] There was also humanitarian aid airdropped for the civilians trapped in the mountains by American and British planes.[3][41] Britain provided surveillance and refuelling to assist the humanitarian mission.[41] France also moved to provide humanitarian aid to Kurds.

On 10 August, Iraqi Kurds retook Makhmour and al-Gweir, some 27 miles from Erbil with the help of coordinated U.S. airstrikes.[42]

On 11 August, Haider al-Abadi was nominated as Iraq's new Prime Minister and he called on Iraqis to unite against the "barbaric" campaign waged by Islamic State militants. At that point, the United States started arming Kurdish forces directly, and France's foreign minister also expressed interest in supporting the Kurds with arms.[43]

On 12 August, an Iraqi military helicopter, piloted by Maj. Gen. Majid Ahmed Saadi, crashed in the mountains while delivering aid and rescuing stranded Yazidi refugees. The helicopter was also carrying Yazidi lawmakers, including Yazidi MP Vian Al Dakhil, and foreign journalists. The general was the only fatality in the crash, while almost all of the passengers were injured.[18]

On 14 August, U.S airstrikes and Kurdish ground forces broke the ISIS siege of Mount Sinjar, allowing thousands of Yazidi refugees to escape.[44] The same day, Nouri al-Maliki gave up his attempt to remain Prime Minister of Iraq.[45]

On 16 August, militants massacred 80 Yazidi men and kidnapped their wives and children in the village of Kocho. The killings reportedly came after ISIS forces surrounded the village for 12 days and during that time made unsuccessful attempts to convince the villagers to convert.[46]

The same day, air strikes were conducted against insurgent positions at the Mosul dam.[46] The next morning, Kurdish forces, supported by U.S. and Iraqi air strikes, attacked the dam. They quickly captured the eastern part of the dam, but fighting continued.[47] By the evening, Kurdish and Iraqi forces had recaptured most of the facility, but were still in the process of removing mines and booby traps left by the insurgents. U.S. warplanes destroyed or damaged 19 insurgent vehicles and one checkpoint during the battle.[48] On 18 August, Iraqi and Kurdish officials claimed their forces had fully secured the dam and its complex, however, fighters on the front reported they were still being slowed down by mines and a new round of air strikes hit near the area.[49] However, ISIS leaders denied that government and Kurdish forces had retaken the dam.[citation needed][50]

Assault on Tikrit

On the morning of 19 August, Iraqi government troops and allied militiamen launched a major operation, to retake the city of Tikrit from Sunni militants. The military push started early in the morning from the south and southwest of the city, which lies around 160 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.[51] However, by the afternoon, the offensive had been repelled by the insurgents.[52] Additionally, the military lost its positions in the southern area of the city it had captured a few weeks earlier.[53]

Reactions

Demonstration in Paris.

Multiple protests and demonstrations were organized around the world to support Kurdish and Yazidi people, particularly in Paris.

See also

References

  1. ^ Raheem Salman; Ahmed Rasheed (14 June 2014). "Iraq says slows Islamist rebel advance, regains some territory".
  2. ^ "Tony Blair: 'We didn't cause Iraq crisis". BBC. 15 June 2014.
  3. ^ a b "US conducts 2nd airdrop of food, water to Iraqi refugees after airstrikes". Fox News. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  4. ^ "U.S. Navy Strikes ISIS Targets in Iraq". USNI. 8 August 2014.
  5. ^ "U.S. provides aid to Yezidis". USAF. 14 August 2014.
  6. ^ Van Heuvelen, Ben. "Amid turmoil, Iraq's Kurdish region is laying foundation for independent state". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 June 2014. Kurdistan's military forces … have taken over many of the northernmost positions abandoned by the national army, significantly expanding the zone of Kurdish control... "In most places, we aren't bothering them [ISIS], and they aren't bothering us – or the civilians," said Lt. Gen. Shaukur Zibari, a pesh merga commander.
  7. ^ a b c d "U.S. airstrikes helped, but Kurds from Syria turned tide against Islamic State". The State. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Rückeroberung von Jalula: YRK und HPJ entsenden Guerillakräfte" (in German). Kürdische Nachrichten. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  9. ^ a b "YRK-HPJ gerillaları Celawla yolunda" (in Turkish). Firat News Agency. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  10. ^ "No Escape from Mount Sinjar". Foreign Policy. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  11. ^ a b Haqiqi, Fuad (25 August 2014). "In Iran, Limited Support for IS Among Small Number of Salafis". Rudaw English. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  12. ^ Muhammad, Kamran (11 August 2014). "PDKI Peshmerga Forces Fought Bravely in the Liberation of Makhmour and Gwer". PDKI Official Website. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  13. ^ "Presence of the MFS at the border of Iraq". Syriac International News Agency. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  14. ^ [1] [dead link]
  15. ^ "Member of Iraq's Parliament Requests Creation of Assyrian Christian Security Force". Aina.org. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  16. ^ "مسيحيو العراق يتطوعون في قوات الدفاع عن المناطق المسيحية". LBC. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  17. ^ Iraq crisis: Isis declares its territories a new Islamic state with 'restoration of caliphate' in Middle East – Middle East – World – The Independent
  18. ^ a b "On a Helicopter, Going Down: Inside a Lethal Crash in Iraq". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2104. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ "ISIS weighs approach on Baghdad". 11 June 2014.
  20. ^ "Iraq army capitulates to Isis militants in four cities". The Guardian. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Iran sends troops into Iraq to aid fight against Isis militants". The Guardian. 14 June 2014.
  22. ^ "U.S. mission in Iraq could expand, Pentagon official says". Navy Times. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  23. ^ Peter Beaumont. "How effective is Isis compared with the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga?". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  24. ^ "ISIS militants have army of 200,000, claims senior Kurdish leader". http://www.el-balad.com. Retrieved 16 November 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  25. ^ a b "Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  26. ^ "92 IS Militants Killed in Zumar". Basnews. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  27. ^ "UN confirms massacre of thousands of Yazidis by jihadis in 'cold blood'". Independent.ie. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  28. ^ "UN confirms 5,000 Yazidis men were executed and 7,000 women are now sex slaves - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online.
  29. ^ "Obama says tackling Iraq's insurgency will take time". Reuters. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  30. ^ a b "Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages". English.alarabiya.net. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  31. ^ a b c Arango, Tim (3 August 2014). "Sunni Extremists in Iraq Seize 3 Towns From Kurds and Threaten Major Dam". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  32. ^ Shelton, Tracey (29 August 2014). "'If it wasn't for the Kurdish fighters, we would have died up there'". Global Post. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  33. ^ a b (subscription needed)"Barack Obama Approves Airstrikes on Iraq, Airdrops Aid". WSJ. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  34. ^ "Iraq's largest Christian town abandoned as Isis advance continues". the Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  35. ^ "40,000 Iraqis stranded on mountain as Isis jihadists threaten death". the Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  36. ^ Iraq: 'Hundreds of Yazidi minority slaughtered'. CNN.
  37. ^ "ISIS takes over Iraq's biggest dam". English.alarabiya.net. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  38. ^ "In Pictures: The Kurdish frontline in Iraq". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  39. ^ "Kurds, Islamic State clash near Kurdish regional capital: Kurdish official". Aawsat.net. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  40. ^ [2] [dead link]
  41. ^ a b "UK planes to drop emergency aid to Iraqi refugees". BBC. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  42. ^ "Capitalizing". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2104. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  43. ^ "France Looking at Supplying Iraqi Kurds With Arms: Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius". NDTV.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  44. ^ "Militants' Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over, Pentagon Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2104. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  45. ^ Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki agrees to step aside, Toronto Star
  46. ^ a b "Militants massacre 80 Yazidis; airstrikes target insurgents around Iraq's largest dam". thestar.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  47. ^ "Kurdish forces take parts of Mosul dam from Isis fighters". the Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  48. ^ "Kurdish forces 'break IS hold on Mosul dam'". BBC News. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  49. ^ "Capitalizing". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2104. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  50. ^ [3] [dead link]
  51. ^ "Iraqi Forces Launch Major Push to Retake Tikrit". Naharnet. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  52. ^ "Isis fighters show strength as they repel Iraqi army's attempt to retake Tikrit". the Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  53. ^ "Iraqis battle Islamic State in Tikrit; situation in Mosul stable". latimes.com. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northern_Iraq_offensive_(August_2014)&oldid=654078170"