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| Iraq | |
| 'Far fewer' stranded on Iraq mountain than feared: US | |
| 2014-08-15 | |
| [ARABNEWS] An American assessment team found "far fewer" Yazidis trapped in northern Iraq than expected, making an evacuation mission less likely, as the flight of minority groups from advancing jihadists showed no let-up Thursday. The UN refugee agency had said tens of thousands of civilians, many of them from the Yazidi religious minority, were trapped on Mount Sinjar by jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) Lion of Islam group, which has overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria. But the Pentagon said that — based on a firsthand assessment by a small party of US military personnel — the plight of those on the mountain was not as bad as had been feared, and an evacuation mission was therefore "far less likely." A US military official said the special forces personnel had returned safely to Arbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said the fewer than 20 troops did not engage in any combat. "The team 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 (IS) targets, the efforts of the (Kurdish forces) and the ability of thousands of Yazidis to evacuate from the mountain each night over the last several days," he said. "The Yazidis who remain are in better condition than previously believed and continue to have access to the food and water that we have dropped."
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, said a US team who spent Wednesday on the mountaintop reported numbers far smaller and circumstances less dire than feared. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 "The good news is that before every round of golf, I get an update, and I'm told there are less live refugees stranded on that mountain. Every time. Which is good news, obviously" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-08-15 09:38 |
| #1 Does anyone actually believe Obama's story? |
| Posted by: Jvalentour 2014-08-15 09:25 |