Iraq Evacuation May Not Require US Troops on Mount Sinjar

Sinjar Mountains - washington post 11 aug 2014

Aug. 13, 2014 - By DAVID JACKSON, JIM MICHAELS and JOHN BACON – Defense News

WASHINGTON — A review by US troops of conditions on Iraq’s Mount Sinjar Wednesday has determined that the conditions of a religious minority seeking refuge there are better than believed and may not require a US-led evacuation, a Pentagon official said.

The team of fewer than 20 US troops “has assessed that there are far fewer Yazidis on Mount Sinjar than previously feared, in part because of the success of humanitarian air drops, air strikes on ISIL targets, the efforts of the Peshmerga and the ability of thousands of Yazidis to evacuate from the mountain each night over the last several days,” said Rear Adm. John Kirby, spokesman for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

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