Reclaiming Sinjar: Pushing Back the Islamic State

Islamic State (IS) fighters swept into the Iraqi city of Sinjar in August 2014, forcing Kurdish peshmerga forces to retreat. The city, primarily made up of Yazidis, a religious minority with roots going back thousands of years in the region, was soon overran with IS militants. They then set about terrorizing the Yazidis, who they see as apostates and devil worshippers who need to be cleansed. Tens of thousands of people fled, with many ending up on in dire straits on nearby Mount Sinjar, creating an urgen