Iraqi forces break Islamic State siege

Iraqi government forces backed by Shi’ite militias broke the two-month siege of the town of Amerli by Islamic State fighters, officials said.

“Security forces and militia fighters are now inside Amerli after breaking the siege and that will definitely relieve the suffering of residents,” Amerli’s mayor Adel al-Bayati said.

The Iraqi forces advanced after the United States military conducted airstrikes on Islamic State targets near Amerli and air dropped humanitarian supplies to the town’s besieged residents. British, French and Australian planes also dropped aid.

In Amerli, thousands of Shia Turkmen had been cut off from food and water for almost two months while besieged by Islamic State fighters. Residents, who were in danger because of their faith and resistance to the self-proclaimed state, had vowed to kill themselves rather than face capture.

The Turkmen, ethnically Turkish, are Iraq’s third largest ethnic group after Arabs and Kurds.

The Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot formerly known as ISIS, captured large swathes of northern Iraq since seizing the strategic northern city of Mosul on June 10. They have proclaimed a caliphate straddling the border with Syria, where they also control vast swathes of territory. Earlier this month, they threatened to invade the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, prompting airstrikes by the United States.