Iraq Conflict: Fighting Resumes At Mosul Dam

Fighting has resumed at Mosul Dam in northern Iraq with jets seen overhead, according to Sky sources.

On the ground, Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga forces have been battling Islamic militants for control of the strategic site which supplies water and power to millions of people down the Tigris river valley.

US fighter jets and drones have been attacking Islamic State (IS) targets from the air as they try to help push back the Sunni extremists who have taken over large parts of the north and west of the country.

IS seized the hydro-electric dam several weeks ago but President Barack Obama announced on Monday that Iraqi and Kurdish forces had regained control of the facility with the help of American airstrikes.

But it appears that are still remnants of IS in the area who are putting up resistance.

Mosul Dam. Pic: File

Sky's Alex Crawford, at Mosul Dam, said: "We heard firing behind us about 1km away. The president's son sad he suspected some hardened IS fighters were in the south of the dam who had not been cleared from the area."

She added: "They are still clearly holding out and putting up some sort of defence."

Crawford said she heard heavy machine gun fire and possibly mortar shelling as well as jets overhead.

There is also fierce fighting near the centre of Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The dam and the city of Mosul are in the north of the country

Tikrit was seized by IS earlier in the year but Iraqi forces as well as Shia militias are trying to drive the insurgents out.

The violence was taking place near the main hospital, more than two miles from the town centre.

"Helicopters are pounding the bases of the terrorists to prevent them from regrouping," said an army major.

Iraqi forces were pushing from the south and also advancing slowly from the west due to landmines and roadside bombs planted by the militants, he added.

Meanwhile, the insurgents, who also seized control of the second city of Mosul in June, have threatened to respond to US airstrikes by attacking American targets, posting a video in which they warn: "We will drown all of you in blood".

The message was accompanied by photographs of beheadings.

Unlike al Qaeda, IS has, to date, focused on seizing land in Iraq and Syria for its self-proclaimed caliphate, rather than attacking Western targets.

Earlier, the group denied losing control of Mosul Dam.

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Iraqi Militants Threaten Revenge Attacks On US

Crucial Battle For World's Most Dangerous Dam

Updated: 5:36pm UK, Monday 18 August 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Recapturing the Mosul Dam from Islamic State (IS) militants isn't just a military and political necessity - it's an engineering imperative.

It's got feet of clay. More accurately, gypsum and limestone.

It holds 12 billion cubic metres (425 billion cubic feet) of water.

If it broke it would unleash a liquid bulldozer 10 metres (65 feet) high that would engulf Mosul downstream on the Tigris before racing south and flooding Baghdad.

Some experts have said around 500,000 people could be killed if the dam were to fail.

Because it's been built on gypsum and limestone, which are water soluble, the dam's base gets regular injections of "grout" - a messy mix of concrete and earth.

Some 200 tonnes of the emergency engineering porridge has to be poured into the base every year but sinkholes are appearing.

Iraq's government had earmarked billions to repair the dam, which is also the source of electricity for about a million people and clean water for much of northern Iraq.

And while IS has pretentions to establishing a "caliphate" over much of Syria and Iraq, it is unlikely the ranks of its militants include advanced construction engineers capable of keeping the dam from collapsing.

In 2007, the US Army Corps of Engineers surveyed the structure and concluded the dam was "the most dangerous in the world".

Kurdish peshmerga fighters, with the support of airstrikes by US warplanes, are battling for control of the dam.

It's a ginger process.

The IS fighters are battle hardened. They are also demolitions experts and have unleashed a tide of bloody religious slaughter across a third of Iraq and Syria.

They have sown the countryside around the dam with improvised explosive devices and mines.

There are fears they might have also rigged the dam for destruction.

This may be an exaggerated concern. The IS is violent and extreme but there are no signs it is idiotic.

Its recent tactical successes have been carefully orchestrated as part of a wider strategy to create a caliphate not even al Qaeda managed to establish.

Sending a wall of water crashing down the Tigris valley and drowning mostly fellow Sunni Muslims would rob the caliphate of potential supporters and guarantee the survivors would turn against its brutal interpretation of Islam.

But this doesn't mean the dam may be damaged in fighting.

Nor that it would be able to survive intact if the IS manages to hang on, or in tit-for-tat-operations the dam's relentless need for reinforcement was fatally interrupted.

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Coach Overturns On Motorway And Lands In Ditch

Around 50 passengers have escaped serious injury after a coach overturned on a motorway.

Police said the driver hurt his back in the crash on the M5 in Gloucestershire.

The incident, which the Highways Agency described as "serious", happened near Dursley, on the southbound side between junctions 13 and 14.

The section was closed following the crash.

A spokesperson for South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: "We were notified at 9.58am that a coach had left the carriageway. It was the only vehicle involved in the incident.

"There were six casualties and all of them sustained minor injuries. They are being assessed at the scene to see if they need to be taken to hospital."

According to reports, the passengers were on a day trip from the West Midlands to Weston-super-Mare.

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Cameron: 'We Are Not Going To War In Iraq'

David Cameron has insisted that Britain will not be getting involved in another war in Iraq.

He spoke out after reports Britain had briefly sent some ground troops to Irbil, to prepare the way for a rescue mission to help displaced Yazidi people.

His comments came amid reports on Iraqi state TV that Kurdish troops have retaken the strategic Mosul dam from Islamic militants.

The UK is considering arming peshmerga troops fighting IS extremists

Peshmerga fighters have been battling Islamic State fighters, with the aid of US airstrikes, after the dam was seized by the militants 10 days ago.

Mr Cameron made his strongly worded statement this morning amid confusion over the UK's involvement in Iraq after a series of media interviews by senior ministers. 

He said: "I want to be absolutely clear to you and to families watching at home. Britain is not going to get involved in another war in Iraq.

"We are not going to be putting boots on the ground. We are not going to be sending in the British Army."

A US airstrike against an IS position near Mosul Dam

Mr Cameron has previously conceded that Britain's role will go beyond humanitarian aid and involve limited action to prevent violence spreading to British streets.

But he said: "So we are helping the Kurds, we are working with the Iraqi government to make sure it is more representative of the whole country.

"And, of course, we are working with neighbours and allies to put the maximum amount of pressure on IS and make sure it is properly dealt with.

"We have said that if the Kurds, the peshmerga, want to have arms from us, that is something we would consider favourably."

Michael Fallon says Britain's involvement could last 'weeks and months'

Mr Cameron appeared on television after Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the UK's Iraq mission would likely last "weeks and months".

Mr Fallon was addressing British troops in Cyprus as it emerged that UK soldiers have been back on the ground in Iraq for the first time since 2009.

The soldiers, from the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire regiment, were briefly sent to Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, to prepare the way for a Yazidi rescue mission.

It is understood the rescue operation would involve Chinook helicopters and the ground troops remained in the country for only 24 hours.

Sheikh Khalah Sheikh Alyas: 'IS killed our young people'

Sky News Political Correspondent Anushka Asthana said the UK's position on Iraq was "a little confusing" after various newspaper and TV interviews by the PM and Mr Fallon.

Asthana said some had interpreted the PM's commitment to providing more than humanitarian aid in Iraq as meaning there would be military action.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said discussions with the Kurdish regional government were focusing on what weapons to supply Kurdish troops.

The retaking of Mosul Dam is considered a major development in the fight against militants in Iraq.

A White House statement said the failure of the dam could threaten the lives of civilians, as well as US personnel and facilities - including the embassy in Baghdad.

In another development, displaced Yazidis, who fled to Syria, have taken up military training and are "seeking revenge".

Sheikh Khalah Sheikh Alyas, head of a Yazidi training camp in Qamishli, Syria, said: "I called on Yazidi young men to volunteer to take revenge and they came in large numbers. Only yesterday and today we received about 55 men."

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Teen Shooting Unrest: National Guard Called In

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has ordered the National Guard to Ferguson amid rising tensions following the shooting death by police of an unarmed black teenager.

Mr Nixon said the National Guard would "help restore peace and order" to the St Louis suburb after days of protests over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. 

In the latest violence on Sunday night, police fired tear gas at demonstrators as gunfire was heard.

The announcement by Mr Nixon came as a preliminary private autopsy found that Mr Brown was shot at least six times - twice in the head - according to the New York Times.

The post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner, at the request of Mr Brown's family.

Protesters say Michael Brown was trying to surrender when shot

Mr Baden said one of the bullets entered the top of Mr Brown's skull, suggesting that his head was bent forward when he suffered a fatal injury.

Mr Brown was shot four times in the right arm and all the bullets were fired into his front, he told the New York Times.

Attorney General Eric Holder has ordered a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy.

As night fell in Ferguson, a peaceful protest quickly deteriorated into further violence - more than a week after Mr Brown's killing on August 9.

Some protesters have defied the curfew

Some protesters carried signs protesting against police brutality. Some had their hands up in the air, while others threw Molotov cocktails at police officers.

Authorities said they were responding to reports of gunfire, looting and vandalism.

The Missouri Highway Patrol also said it used tear gas to disperse "aggressors" who were trying to infiltrate a law enforcement command post, and that armoured vehicles were deployed to ensure public safety.

Captain Ron Johnson said there were "acts of violence that appear to not have been spontaneous, but premeditated attacks designed to damage property, hurt people, and provoke a response".

The demonstrations have been going on for a week, with most being peaceful

A man was shot and critically wounded in the area, but not by police, and someone also shot at a police car, authorities said.

Seven people were arrested for failing to disperse.

Officials announced another five-hour curfew for the second night running which started at midnight local time (6am UK time). But much of the violence started before the curfew.

Calls to demilitarise police have mounted

Authorities said they plan to decide on a day-by-day basis whether to extend the curfew, first imposed on Saturday night by Mr Nixon in an effort to quell the demonstrations.

Mr Nixon meanwhile sharply criticised the town's police for releasing CCTV video which they say shows Mr Brown stealing cigars from a store and shoving an employee.

"I think it had an incendiary effect," he told CBS' Face The Nation on Sunday morning.

He said police "clearly are attempting to besmirch a victim of a shooting".

Minutes after the robbery, Mr Brown had a fatal encounter with an officer who police say stopped the teenager for jaywalking.

Mr Brown was unarmed and it has been claimed he was trying to surrender before he was shot dead by white police officer Darren Wilson, 28.

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Julian Assange Will Leave Embassy 'Soon'

Julian Assange has told a news conference he will leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London "soon" after more than two years holed up inside the building.

The Australian spelled out his plans for his next moves alongside Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino at the embassy in Knightsbridge.

Widespread reports had suggested the WikiLeaks website founder needs hospital treatment for heart and lung problems.

But the 43-year-old denied he was leaving the embassy for health reasons.

He said: "I am leaving the embassy soon - but perhaps not for the reasons the Murdoch press and Sky News are saying at the moment.

"Being detained in various ways in this country without charge for four years and in this embassy for two years which has no outside area, therefore no sunlight… it is an environment in which any healthy person would find themselves soon enough with certain difficulties."

Police officers outside the embassy building in Knightsbridge

Mr Assange insisted Ecuador's decision to grant him political asylum "is the correct one".

He said: "How can it be that such a situation in Europe arises where a person is held and their freedom of movement restricted and they are kept from their family while a foreign government builds an ever larger case against that person and their organisation?

"Somehow the situation has developed here for me… where basic rights that were previously universally accepted in Europe are no longer respected."

He added that there had been "significant mis-reporting" surrounding his case.

Media organisations including Sky News were not inside the news conference

He said: "Firstly - I have not been charged with an offence here in the UK or in Sweden at any time.

"Secondly, the basis under which my asylum was granted here is the ongoing US investigation into me and WikiLeaks.

"It is often falsely reported that women in Sweden have accused me of the serious crime of rape. That is false.

"This is the situation which is being seized upon, at the time of the conflict between me and the US, the Swedish government resurrected a matter that had been previously dropped."

Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino called for an end to the situation

Mr Patino said: "There has been two years of great uncertainty and a lack of legal protection. This situation must come to an end. Two years is simply too long.

"It is time to free Julian Assange."

He added that he would seek to meet with the British Foreign Secretary in the next few weeks to discuss resolving the situation.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks spokesman, said: "The plan, as always, is to leave as soon as the UK Government decides to honour its obligations in relation to international agreements."

Mr Assange requested asylum in June 2012 and has been under continued surveillance with police stationed outside the embassy since.

He faces an arrest warrant in Sweden over allegations he sexually assaulted two women and would be arrested if he left the embassy building.

Mr Assange has been investigated by US authorities since WikiLeaks published leaked military and diplomatic documents in 2010 and has said he fears being extradited to the US to face questioning if he goes to Sweden.

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US Launches Airstrikes To Help Retake Iraq Dam

'Corpses Everywhere' After Jihadist 'Massacre'

Updated: 12:54pm UK, Saturday 16 August 2014

Dead bodies were found "everywhere" when Yazidi fighters arrived at a village where jihadists have been accused of carrying out a massacre, witnesses have said.

Officials believe Islamic State (IS) fighters killed around 80 people, mostly Yazidis, after arriving in the northern Iraq village of Kocho and demanding they abandon their beliefs and convert to Islam.

The militants also kidnapped women from the village in Nineveh province and took them to prisons they control, according to a senior Kurdish official.

Yazidi fighter Mohsen Tawwal told AFP by telephone that he saw a large number of bodies in the village.

"We made it into a part of Kocho village, where residents were under siege, but we were too late," he said.

"There were corpses everywhere. We only managed to get two people out alive. The rest had all been killed."

A man from a neighbouring village, who had been told what happened, added: "The Islamic State had spent five days trying to persuade villagers to convert to Islam and ... a long lecture was delivered about the subject today."

"The men were gathered and shot dead.

"The women and girls were probably taken to Tal Afar because that is where the foreign fighters are."

Senior Iraqi official Hoshyar Zebari said: "We have information from multiple sources, in the region and through intelligence, that (on Friday) afternoon, a convoy of (IS) armed men entered this village. 

"They took their revenge on its inhabitants, who happened to be mostly Yazidis who did not flee their homes.

"They committed a massacre against the people. Around 80 of them have been killed."

Thousands of Yazidis - people from a minority sect with an ancient religion - have been forced to flee their homes by the IS advance.

The extremist group, previously called ISIS, has swept across a large part of northern and central Iraq, taking Mosul and threatening Baghdad and Kurdish capital Irbil.

On Saturday, airstrikes targeted the group around Mosul Dam. It was not immediately clear if they were carried out by the Iraqi air force of the US. 

The IS seized Iraq's largest dam on August 7.

Iraq's human rights minister has said that Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of the Yazidi community during their offensive in the north.

Some of the victims, including women and children, were buried alive, Mohammed Shia al Sudani said.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday blacklisted six Islamist militants and threatened sanctions against anyone who helped arm or supply them.

Five members of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which operates in Syria, and Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani were included on the British-drafted resolution, which also condemned all aspects of IS's activities and beliefs.

Earlier, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to arm Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

The meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 EU nations was called by EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton and came after several European countries, including France and Germany, said they were prepared to supply weapons to the Peshmerga forces.

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PM Warns Of Terror State On Europe's Doorstep

'Poisonous Extremism' Warning

Updated: 10:57pm UK, Saturday 16 August 2014

By David Cameron, Letter In The Sunday Telegraph

Stability. Security. The peace of mind that comes from being able to get a decent job and provide for your family, in a country that you feel has a good future ahead of it and that treats people fairly.

In a nutshell, that is what people in Britain want - and what the Government I lead is dedicated to building.

Britain - our economy, our security, our future - must come first.

After a deep and damaging recession, and our involvement in long and difficult conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is hardly surprising that so many people say to me when seeing the tragedies unfolding on their television screens: "Yes, let's help with aid, but let's not get any more involved."

I agree that we should avoid sending armies to fight or occupy.

But we need to recognise that the brighter future we long for requires a long-term plan for our security as well as for our economy.

True security will only be achieved if we use all our resources - aid, diplomacy, our military prowess - to help bring about a more stable world.

Today, when every nation is so immediately interconnected, we cannot turn a blind eye and assume that there will not be a cost for us if we do.

The creation of an extremist caliphate in the heart of Iraq and extending into Syria is not a problem miles away from home.

Nor is it a problem that should be defined by a war 10 years ago. It is our concern here and now.

Because if we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain.

We already know that it has the murderous intent. Indeed, the first Isis-inspired terrorist acts on the continent of Europe have already taken place.

Our first priority has of course been to deal with the acute humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

We should be proud of the role that our brave armed services and aid workers have played in the international effort.

British citizens have risked their lives to get 80 tons of vital supplies to the Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar.

It is right that we use our aid programme to respond rapidly to a situation like this: Britain has given £13 million to support the aid effort.

We also helped to plan a detailed international rescue operation and we remain ready and flexible to respond to the ongoing challenges in or around Dahuk, where more than 450,000 people have increased the population by 50 per cent.

But a humanitarian response alone is not enough. We also need a broader political, diplomatic and security response.

For that, we must understand the true nature of the threat we face.

We should be clear: this is not the "War on Terror", nor is it a war of religions. It is a struggle for decency, tolerance and moderation in our modern world.

It is a battle against a poisonous ideology that is condemned by all faiths and by all faith leaders, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim.

Of course there is conflict between Shias and Sunnis, but that is the wrong way to see what is really happening.

What we are witnessing is actually a battle between Islam on the one hand and extremists who want to abuse Islam on the other.

These extremists, often funded by fanatics living far away from the battlefields, pervert the Islamic faith as a way of justifying their warped and barbaric ideology - and they do so not just in Iraq and Syria but right across the world, from Boko Haram and al-Shabaab to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

So this threat cannot simply be removed by airstrikes alone. We need a tough, intelligent and patient long-term approach that can defeat the terrorist threat at source.

First, we need a firm security response, whether that is military action to go after the terrorists, international co-operation on intelligence and counter-terrorism or uncompromising action against terrorists at home.

On Friday we agreed with our European partners that we will provide equipment directly to the Kurdish forces; we are now identifying what we might supply, from body armour to specialist counter-explosive equipment.

We have also secured a United Nations Security Council resolution to disrupt the flows of finance to Isis, sanction those who are seeking to recruit for it and encourage countries to do all they can to prevent foreign fighters joining the extremist cause.

Here in Britain we have recently introduced stronger powers through our Immigration Act to deprive naturalised Britons of their citizenship if they are suspected of being involved in terrorist activities.

We have taken down 28,000 pieces of terrorist-related material from the web, including 46 Isis-related videos.

And I have also discussed the police response to this growing threat of extremism with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

The position is clear. If people are walking around with Isis flags or trying to recruit people to their terrorist cause, they will be arrested and their materials will be seized.

We are a tolerant people, but no tolerance should allow the room for this sort of poisonous extremism in our country.

Alongside a tough security response, there must also be an intelligent political response. We know that terrorist organisations thrive where there is political instability and weak or dysfunctional political institutions.

So we must support the building blocks of democracy - the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the rights of minorities, free media and association and a proper place in society for the army.

None of these things can be imposed by the West. Every country must make its own way. But we can and must play a valuable role in supporting them to do that.

Isis militants have exploited the absence of a unified and representative government in Baghdad. So we strongly welcome the opportunity of a new start with Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi.

I spoke to him earlier this week and assured him that we will support any attempts to forge a genuinely inclusive government that can unite all Iraqi communities - Sunnis, Shias and Kurds - against the common enemy of Isis, which threatens the way of life of them all.

The international community will rally around this new government. But Iraq's neighbours in the region are equally vital.

So we must work with countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the UAE, Egypt and Turkey against these extremist forces, and perhaps even with Iran, which could choose this moment to engage with the international community against this shared threat.

I want Britain to play a leading role in this diplomatic effort. So we will be appointing a Special Representative to the Kurdistan Regional Government and using the Nato summit in Wales and the United Nations General Assembly in New York to help rally support across the international community.

Finally, while being tough and intelligent, we must also be patient and resolute. We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a poisonous and extremist ideology, which I believe we will be fighting for the rest of my political lifetime.

We face in Isis a new threat that is single-minded, determined and unflinching in pursuit of its objectives.

Already it controls not just thousands of minds, but thousands of square miles of territory, sweeping aside much of the boundary between Iraq and Syria to carve out its so-called caliphate.

It makes no secret of its expansionist aims. Even today it has the ancient city of Aleppo firmly within its sights.

And it boasts of its designs on Jordan and Lebanon, and right up to the Turkish border. If it succeeds, we would be facing a terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a Nato member.

This is a clear danger to Europe and to our security.

It is a daunting challenge. But it is not an invincible one, as long as we are now ready and able to summon up the political will to defend our own values and way of life with the same determination, courage and tenacity as we have faced danger before in our history.

That is how much is at stake here: we have no choice but to rise to the challenge.

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Russian Missile Launchers 'Cross Into Ukraine'

A convoy of Russian military equipment, including at least three missile launchers, has crossed into Ukraine, according to officials in Kiev, as a fighter jet was shot down by pro-Moscow rebels.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said at least three Grad missile systems were among the weapons being sent to the separatists in the east of the country, who are battling a Ukrainian government offensive.

Andriy Lysenko also told journalists that Russian drones had violated Ukrainian air space on 10 occasions.

The fighter jet MiG-29 plane was shot down in the Luhansk area, where Ukrainian forces recaptured a police station on Sunday after more than three months under the control of the separatists.

Russian vehicles with containers for BUK-M1 missiles in Rostov on Saturday

The pilot ejected from the MiG-29 plane and has been found after a search, spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky said.

Mr Dmytrashkivsky said the plane was shot after launching an attack on rebels.

The shooting down of the plane came after Kiev and Moscow reached agreement on the passage of a Russian aid convoy into the east.

There are reports that 16 of the aid trucks left the parking lot in western Russia where the convoy has been waiting and headed for the Ukrainian border.

The plane was shot down in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine

Ukraine had been concerned the convoy of 280 white trucks could be a 'Trojan horse', allowing Russia to set up a permanent presence in rebel-held territory.

But Russia "guaranteed" the US that no military personnel were in the vehicles, which have been stuck near the border for the past few days.

Moscow says the trucks are carrying water, food and medicine for people displaced by fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Red Cross officials have been examining the contents of the lorries.

Several lorries from a Russian aid convoy are moving to the border

They say they need security guarantees from both sides before the convoy can start moving across the border.

Fighting in Ukraine has escalated since the insurgency arose in April, with government troops steadily taking back rebel-held territory in the east.

Luhansk is reportedly suffering from severe electrical outages and shortages of food and medicine.

Donetsk, the largest rebel-held city, is also suffering through frequent shelling.

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Yazidis Return To Mountains On Rescue Mission

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

Tens of thousands of people from the ancient Yazidi community were left stranded on top of Mount Sinjar when Islamic State militants took over their towns and villages on August 2.

Among them was Azeez Hussein and his entire family.

They spent eight days on Mount Sinjar with little food or water until Azeez decided they were going to die on the mountain if they did not try to escape. 

Two days later he made it to Duhok in northern Iraq.

It took him and his wife over 20 hours of walking to flee, carrying their seven children, including their three-week-old baby girl.

Azzez Hussein is heading back to the mountain to find his parents

When we finally met him he was traumatised and kept saying he needed to go back.

His decision to leave with his children meant he could not take his elderly parents, who were still stuck on the mountain surrounded by the militants.

So we went with Azeez to the crossing point leading back to Sinjar. As we approached the bridge, we found hundreds of Yazidis queuing to get across.

Azeez's three-week-old daughter has had a traumatic start to her life

Azeez's cousins were at the front of the line, they had already been there for hours. They too were returning so they could try to bring back their parents.

All around us we heard tragic stories of loss and despair.

I asked one man why he was going back rather than waiting for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces or the Americans to rescue their families.

"Because our families will die waiting," he replied.

These Yazidis say they families would die if they waited for outside help

Another Yazidi man told us about how he saw Islamic State fighters abduct people in his village. He said they tried to convert him to Islam but he refused and escaped.

American and British representatives were also at the bridge crossing.

But Yazidis said they felt abandoned by the international community who are now indicating there is no need for a rescue mission.

"We are assessing the situation and seeing how much more we can help beyond what we have already provided," Richard Guera from the Department for International Development told us.

After five hours, the crossing finally opened. Azeez's cousins crossed the bridge but they have a difficult journey ahead.

They will need to drive through the mountains into Syria and then cross back into Iraq. From there, it is a seven-hour walk to the towns and villages where their families are trapped.

Despite the aid and arms pledged by the international community, it is being left to Yazidi fathers, brothers and sons to return to a place where they almost died escaping from, to save those nobody else will.

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