Iraqi Militants Kill 500: Mass Grave Found

Iraq militants have killed 500 people - burying women and children alive in a mass grave, the human rights minister has said.

Hundreds of bodies of Yazidis, ethnic minority Kurds, were discovered in the north of the country, where the Islamic State fighters, formerly known as ISIS, have staged a major offensive.

The militants have driven as many as 150,000 Yazidis from their homes into the Sinjar mountains were they are cut off from food and water and struggling to survive. Hundreds are already reported to have died.

Yazidis flee as the jihadists carve a bloody trail through northern Iraq

Human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Islamic State fighters had also kidnapped 300 women as slaves as they advanced, leaving a bloody trail of death in their wake.

He said there was evidence the militants had buried some of their victims, including women and children alive.

Officials said at least 20,000 of those trapped in the mountains had managed to escaped into Syria and been escorted by Kurdish fighters back into Iraqi Kurdistan.

Thousands are hiding in the Sinjar mountains but face starvation

An RAF plane made the first British aid drop across northern Iraq on Sunday morning delivering reusable filtration containers, tents, and solar lights which can also recharge mobile phones.

It comes after the US launched a fresh round of strikes in an attempt to stop the jihadists' advance across the country following a warning from Barack Obama that he was ready for a protracted campaign.

Humanitarian aid drops from the back of an RAF plane

The militants have been sweeping through northern Iraq, beheading and crucifying captives who refuse to be converted to Islam.

During a press conference on Saturday Mr Obama accepted there would be no quick fix for the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country and vowed to continue strikes for weeks or months if necessary.

The President, who has ruled out sending in ground troops, and David Cameron discussed the commitment to providing humanitarian relief during a telephone conversation on Saturday.

Aid parcels are loaded on to the plane

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "Both leaders also agreed that aid drops are not a long term solution, and that a way must be found to get these people to safety and to avert a genocide."

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond also announced on Saturday that there would be "a continuing drumbeat of airdrop operations" around the Sinjar mountains. The Government has pledged an emergency £8m aid package to help refugees in Iraq.

Kurdish fighters try to protect the Yazidis

The strikes mark the first American offensive in Iraq since Washington pulled out its forces in 2011 after nearly a decade of brutal war.

Mr Obama also said US action aimed to prevent Islamic State fighters from attacking Irbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdish region, where the US has a diplomatic mission.

He said: "I'm not going to give a particular timetable, because as I've said from the start, wherever and whenever US personnel and facilities are threatened, it's my obligation, my responsibility as commander in chief, to make sure they are protected."

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