Text of statement by Kurdistan Region Security Council, KRSC:

Operation Free Sinjar (#FreeSinjar), supervised by President Masoud Barzani and supported by the International Coalition, concluded at approximately 1500hrs on 13 November 2015 as Peshmerga forces successfully reached Sinjar town.

Operation Free Sinjar achieved its primary objectives: to cordon off Sinjar town, disrupt Highway 47 from East and West Sinjar, and create a buffer zone.

In the course of the two-day operation, 28 villages were retaken from Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); more than 300 terrorists were killed by Peshmerga forces and Coalition warplanes, and over 200 square kilometres were cleared and returned to the Kurdistan Region.

Peshmerga forces have now established defensive positions in four major intersections connecting to Sinjar, including Ba'aj-Sinjar, Bulayj-Sinjar and Shababit. This will limit ISIL freedom of movement and to its ability to send reinforcements and supplies between Iraq and Syria.

Counter-IED teams will continue to clear the heavily-mined area while Peshmerga forces create defensive positions.

Over 40 local, regional and international media outlets in print, television and Internet were invited and embedded with Peshmerga units across the fronts in preparation for this operation.

Office of The Chancellor
Kurdistan Region Security Council