munitions to the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces and, with Iraq's agreement, the shipment of weapons to the Kurds. Following the start of U.S. airstrikes on 8 August, between 9 and 13 August, the American air-strikes and efforts from Iraqi, Syrian and Turkish Kurds enabled the evacuation of 35,000 to 45,000 of the 50,000 Yazidis stranded in the Sinjar Mountains. On 10 August, encouraged by American airstrikes, Kurdish Peshmerga forces retook the strategic towns of Gwer and Makhmour, both about 20 miles from Erbil. American fighter jets bombarded areas in Makhmour, forcing ISIL fighters to abandon their positions, and Kurdish Peshmerga together with Kurdish PKK fighters and civilian volunteers from the area reclaimed the village. On 15 August, ISIL moved into the village Kocho, which they had held surrounded since 4 August, shot 80 Yazidi men dead with assault rifles, and abducted their wives and children. Reclaiming the Mosul Dam From 16 until 18 August, the U.S. conducted 35 airstrikes against ISIL positions at the strategically critical Mosul Dam. This allowed Kurdish and Iraqi forces to move swiftly and with cooperation towards Mosul Dam. On the morning of 17 August, Kurdish forces, supported by U.S. and Iraqi airstrikes, attacked the dam. They quickly captured the eastern part of the dam, but fighting continued. By the evening, Kurdish and Iraqi forces had recaptured most of the facility, but were still in the process of removing mines and booby traps left by ISIL. U.S. warplanes destroyed or damaged 19 ISIL vehicles and one checkpoint during the battle. On 18 August, the U.S. president confirmed Kurdish Peshmerga ground troops, with the help of Iraqi Special Forces, overran ISIL militants and reclaimed the Mosul Dam. Iraqi move on Tikrit On the morning of 19 August, Iraqi government troops and allied militiamen launched an operation to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIL. The military push started early in the morning from the south and southwest of the city, which lies around 160 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. However, by the afternoon, the offensive had been repelled by ISIL. Also, the Iraqi military lost its positions in the southern area of the city it had captured a few weeks earlier. Humanitarian reaction On 5 August, Iraqi military helicopters started dropping food and water for the Yazidis in the Sinjar Mountains. On 7 August, the U.S. also started airdropping food and water for the Yazidi