Iraq has been holding talks with a Yazidi community delegation as Kurdish forces prepare a mountain offensive against Islamic State militants.<br /><br />Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi confirmed that the country will provide the Yazidi community with weapons and ammunition as well as supporting them with air strikes.<br /><br />Yazidi field commander Sheikh Tu’ma Suleiman welcomed the move and also stressed that some 2,000 families who are still besieged in the Sinjar mountains will be helped to move to a safe place.<br /><br />Islamic State fighters attacked the Sinjar area in August, forcing thousands of Yazidis to seek shelter in the craggy mountainous area. Its awkward geography has made it difficult to penetrate.<br /><br />Kurdish forces are now massing to break the siege imposed on Yazidi families.<br /><br />Estimates of the number of people still stranded on Sinjar mountain vary from 10,000 to fewer than 1,000.
