Defense officials said late Wednesday that United States airstrikes and Kurdish fighters had broken the siege on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq, allowing thousands of Yazidis trapped there to escape.
An initial report from about a dozen Marines and Special Operations forces who spent the last 24 hours on the 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. report nyt
Defense officials could not say how many Yazidis remained on the mountain, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was expected to make an announcement later Wednesday night.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/14/world/middleeast/us-may-weigh-using-ground-troops-to-aid-rescue-of-iraq-refugees.html?emc=edit_na_20140813