Retaking Mount Sinjar from ISIS
Female fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) stand near the border between Syria and Iraq, close to the Iraqi town of Snoun, Dec.22, 2014.
Kurdish and Yazidi fighters battled to take the Sinjar back from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after breaking a months-long siege of the mountain above it. Seizing the town would restore the majority of territory Iraq's Kurds lost in ISIS' surprise offensive in August
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
A camp hosting displaced Iraqi from the Yazidi community is set up on Mount Sinjar, 1oo miles west of the northern city of Mosul, the main ISIS stronghold in Iraq.
Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani hailed advances by Peshmerga fighters against the ISIS militants as they battled the militants for a northern town, backed by US-led strikes.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather in front of tents set up on Mount Sinjar, Dec. 21, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Fighters of Kurdish Peshmerga forces get ready for an operation in the town of Sinjar, Dec. 20, 2014.
Thousands of the autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga fighters launched a major operation backed by US-led air strikes on Dec. 17, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Fighters of Kurdish Peshmerga forces get ready for an operation in the town of Sinjar, Dec. 20, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters gather in Sinjar, Dec. 21, 2014.
The operation threatens the links between the city of Mosul, the main ISiS stronghold in Iraq, and territory the militant group controls in neighboring Syria.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Smoke rises from what activists said were U.S.-led air strikes on the town of Sinjar, Dec. 22, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter stands on a road in Zumar, Nineveh province, Dec. 18, 2014.
Kurdish peshmerga fighters have fought their way to Iraq's Sinjar mountain and freed hundreds of people trapped there by Islamic State fighters, head of the Iraqi Kurdish region's national security council Masrour Barzani said.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters along with Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters stand atop of a hill overlooking the town of Sinjar, Dec. 22, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Smoke rises from what activists said were U.S.-led air strikes, Dec. 22, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
A Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) flag flutters on a lookout point between the Iraqi-Syrian border town of Rabia and the town of Snuny, north of Mount Sinjar, Dec. 20, 2014.
Iraqi Kurdish fighters flashed victory signs as they swept across the northern side of Sinjar mountain on Saturday, two days after breaking through to free hundreds of Yazidis trapped there for months by ISIS fighters.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Kurdish fighters stand with their weapons between the Iraqi-Syrian border town of Rabia and the town of Snuny, north of mount Sinjar, Dec. 20, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
People from the minority Yazidi sect work wool in the town of Sinjar, Dec. 21, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
A man from the minority Yazidi sect stands guard in the town of Sinjar, Dec. 20, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
Yezidi temple Sharaf al-Din is seen at Mount Sinjar, in the town of Sinjar, Dec. 20, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
People from the minority Yazidi sect tend to chores in the town of Sinjar, Dec. 21, 2014.
The fight to retake Mount Sinjar
A girl from the minority Yazidi sect sits near a box of food aid at Mount Sinjar, Dec. 22, 2014.