At least 7,500 soldiers are engaged in the operation. The ground attack, which also involves yazide militias, supported by US coalition air strikes. The goal is to cut off Jihadists main supply route between Mosul and Syria. The offensive planned for some time but postponed because of weather and conflicts within the various groups.

Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - This morning the Iraqi Kurdish militias launched a massive offensive against the fighters of the Islamic State (IS) in the town of Sinjar, located on one of the main routes used by jihadists for supplies.

Ezzeddine Saadun, Brigadier General, said that "the attack began at 7 am, and the peshmerga forces (Kurdish) advanced in different directions to free the center of the district of Sinjar." Local witnesses speak of columns of smoke rising from the city, caused by the air strikes carried out by the international coalition led by the United States and the Kurds mortar attacks.

The town of Sinjar in Nineveh province, is located along one of the main routes used by jihadists for the supply of weapons and war material. The road connects Mousl, the IS stronghold of the in Iraq, with Syria where militias control large areas of land. Breaking this link would represent a major blow to Daesh [Arabic acronym for IS], and limit their ability to move fighters and vehicles from one country to another.

According to Kurdish state leaders, the offensive waged today against the jihadists involves at least 7,500, peshemrga with the stated aim of regaining Sinjar "and creating a buffer that guarantees protection and security to the people." The Islamic state took control of the area in August 2014.

Recently, the leaders of the "Caliphate" sent at least 600 units to reinforce the defense of the city, in view of a possible attack by the Kurds supported the US-led coalition. This military intervention was expected for weeks, but repeatedly postponed by bad weather and by conflicts between the various Yazidi and Kurdish groups in the area.

The offensive is closely being monitored by the President of Iraqi Kurdistan Massoud Barzani and Yazidis fighters are also participating, eager to avenge the violence and expel the jihadists.

From the outset the Islamic terrorists killed and abused members of the religious minority in this area. Yazidis are a monotheistic group that encompasses several elements present in other faiths; this is why they are considered heretics and infidels by the Islamic State. Thousands have fled their homes and lands, seeking refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The United Nations has compared the jihadist violence against the Yazidis to a genocide. Among the most dramatic episodes of this war, the Islamic fundamentalists siege of thousands of men, women, elderly and children trapped on the mountain overlooking the city; the need to free the Yazidi siege was one of the reasons that prompted Washington last year to launch air strikes against IS in Iraq.

• IRAQ
• peshmerga
• Singar
• Islamic
• State
• attack
• kurdistan