Breaking News:Battle for Sinjar; Kurdish forces 'enter' IS-held town in Iraq

Battle for Sinjar: Kurdish forces 'enter' IS-held town in Iraq

• 16 minutes ago
 
• From the sectionMiddle East

Kurdish fighters have reportedly entered Sinjar in northern Iraq, a day after launching an offensive to retake it from Islamic State (IS) militants.

The Kurdistan Regional Security Council said in a tweet that Peshmerga forces had entered from "from all directions" and were clearing the town of IS.

The Kurdish offensive is supported by US-led coalition air strikes.

When it captured Sinjar last year, IS killed or enslaved thousands of members of the Yazidi religious minority.

Tens of thousands of others became trapped on nearby Mount Sinjar without food or water for days until they were rescued by Syrian Kurdish forces. The risk of genocide was a key factor in the US decision to launch air strikes in Iraq.

Witnesses said the Kurdish fighters, some carrying rocket-propelled grenades, moved into the town on foot.

Associated Press journalists said the fighters raised a Kurdish flag and fired off celebratory gunfire after reaching the centre of Sinjar.

A hospital, several public buildings, a silo and cement factory have all been secured, the Kurdistan Regional Security Council (KRSC) said in a another tweet.

The offensive to retake Sinjar began in earnest at dawn on Thursday, with some 7,500 Peshmerga fighters closing in on three fronts after coalition warplanes bombed IS positions, command-and-control facilities and weapons stores.