December 2014 Sinjar offensive

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Saeed alaee (talk | contribs) at 12:57, 29 December 2014. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 12:57, 29 December 2014 by Saeed alaee (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Sinjar offensive

Part of the Iraqi insurgency (2011–present)

Situation in Iraq, as of 16 December 2014:

Gray – Insurgent-controlled territory
Red – Iraqi-controlled territory
Yellow – Kurdish territory

For the current military situation in Iraq see this map.

Date	17-21 December 2014 (4 days)
Location	Nineveh Province, Iraq
Result	Decisive Peshmerga victory

Belligerents

Iraqi Kurdistan

Peshmerga

Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
People's Protection Units (YPG)
Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS)
Air support:

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Commanders and leaders

Masoud Barzani

Unknown

Strength

8,000 Peshmerga

Unknown

Casualties and losses

2+ Peshmerga fighters killed

25+ fighters wounded

300 killed (Peshmerga claim)

v t e Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
Timeline 2011 2012 2013 1st Baghdad 2nd Baghdad & Nasiriyah Basra 3rd Baghdad 1st Pan-Iraq 2nd Pan-Iraq 4th Baghdad & Hilla ‡ 3rd Pan-Iraq ‡ 4th Pan-Iraq ‡ 5th Pan-Iraq ‡ 6th Pan-Iraq 7th Pan-Iraq Tuz Khormato 1st Kirkuk Akashat 8th Pan-Iraq Tikrit 9th Pan-Iraq 5th Baghdad ‡ Hawija ‡ 10th Pan-Iraq al-Shabah 6th Baghdad 11th Pan-Iraq 12th Pan-Iraq ‡ 13th Pan-Iraq 7th Baghdad 14th Pan-Iraq ‡ 15th Pan-Iraq Camp Ashraf 8th Baghdad ‡ 16th Pan-Iraq Samarra ‡ 9th Baghdad 2nd Kirkuk 10th Baghdad 11th Baghdad ‡ indicates incidents resulting in over 100 deaths

Iraqi insurgency
(2011–2013)

Timeline

‡ indicates incidents resulting in over 100 deaths

The Sinjar offensive is an ongoing operation launched by the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq in 17 December 2014, to recapture the regions formerly lost to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in their August offensive. Reportedly, Masoud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan, is personally directing the offensive. According to a Kurdish statement, the aim of the offensive was to recapture territory covering about 2,100 square kilometers.

Background

Main article: Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014)

In August of 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant launched an offensive in Northern Iraq and pushed into Kurdish held areas of the Nineveh Province, capturing the city of Sinjar, among others. Some ten thousand Yazidis fled to and remained on Mount Sinjar, located to the city's north. Recently formed Yazidi militias(known as YBS), along with YPG and PKK fighters, held ground against ISIL. By mid-December, Mount Sinjar was completely besieged by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Peshmerga offensive

Zumar offensive

The offensive, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes that had started the night before, was launched by the Peshmerga forces at 7am (04.00 GMT) in 17 December 2014. About 8,000 Peshmerga forces started advancing westward from Zumar, which itself was recaptured by the Peshmerga in October. A total of 45 airstrikes had been conducted by the end of the day.

Breaking the siege of Mount Sinjar

The next day, the Peshmerga advanced furthermore and managed to recapture a total of 700 square kilometers of territory and open a corridor from Zumar to Mount Sinjar, thus breaking the siege of the mountain. According to a statement from the Kurdish command, large numbers of ISIL militants were fleeing, westward into Syria, and eastward into Mosul. A total of 53 airstrikes had been carried out as of Thursday evening. According to Pentagon, the strikes near Sinjar had targeted ISIL storage units, bulldozers, guard towers, vehicles and three bridges. Kurdish officials on Thursday said more than 100 ISIL militants had been killed so far.

Rabia offensive and closing in on Tal Afar

On 19 December, one day after breaking the siege of Mount Sinjar, Peshmerga launched a new offensive from Rabia border crossing southward to Mount Sinjar. The new offensive was launched at 8am (05.00 GMT) with the aim of further clearing the area north of Mount Sinjar. Simultaneously, Peshmerga forces on Mount Sinjar started pushing northward and captured Snuny, located on the road to Rabia. Also, it was reported that the Peshmerga, on a different front, were approaching Tal Afar and had started firing artillery at ISIL positions nearby. Tal Afar, a Turkmen city, is located on the road that connects Sinjar to Mosul and was captured by ISIL in their June offensive.

Battle for Sinjar

YPG offensive

The Syrian Kurdistan's army, known as People's Protection Units (YPG), announced on 19 December that they were moving south towards the Iraqi border to reopen a corridor connecting Mount Sinjar to the Syrian border. The YPG had first opened that corridor in August to relieve tens of thousands of Yazidis stranded on Mount Sinjar. Two days later the YPG said they had captured three villages on the Syrian side of the border and four villages on the Iraqi side and had successfully reopened the corridor.