CNN reports that the U.S. has begun an airdrop mission in northern Iraq to assist about 40,000 refugees stranded on a mountain without food or water. The refugees are largely of the Yazidi sect, and they fled the nearby town of Sinjar after the extremist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria moved in.

The Obama administration is reportedly considering launching air strikes to beat back ISIS. Indeed, The New York Times reported this evening that the U.S. strikes had already begun, citing officials from the autonomous region of Kurdistan, but the Pentagon swiftly denied the claim.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.