Written question asked by Douglas Alexander (Labour) on Thursday, 18 December 2014, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 January 2015. It was answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede (Conservative) on Friday, 9 January 2015 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the security situation around Mount Sinjar.

Answer: I welcome the military operations conducted by Iraqi forces in northern Iraq, to remove Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the area of Mount Sinjar. Reports suggest that early in these operations Kurdish Peshmerga, supported by Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition airstrikes, were able quickly to remove ISIL from villages and towns north of Mount Sinjar. The situation remains fluid as fighting continues but on 6 January Iraqi forces were reported to have retaken much of Sinjar city.

Secondary information