( CNN ) -- The face of 15-year-old Aziza says it all . Her mouth slightly agape , tears stream down her face as she glances around the inside of a helicopter with confusion in her eyes . She looks completely exhausted , overcome with emotion . She cries the whole flight to safety . The Iraqi air force and fighters with the Kurdish peshmerga carried out a dramatic rescue mission Monday at Mount Sinjar , taking supplies to desperate Yazidis and ferrying a handful of people out , including Aziza . A CNN crew was on the flight that took diapers , milk , water and food to the site where thousands of people have been driven by ISIS , which calls itself the Islamic State . Map : Where is ISIS ? CNN 's Ivan Watson , who was on the chopper , described the mission as `` heroic . '' Teams hurled out bags and boxes of food from as high as 50 feet before approaching the ground . `` We landed on several short occasions , and that 's where -- amid this explosion of dust and chaos -- these desperate civilians came racing towards the helicopter , throwing their children on board the aircraft . The crew was just trying to pull up as many people as possible , '' Watson said . Soon , some of the trapped families -- including babies and the elderly -- were packed into the flight . A man held a water bottle for a woman trying drink , her head propped up on his shoulder . Others did n't make it and were left behind as the helicopter pulled away . `` It was chaotic . It was crazy , but we were able to then lift off with about 20 civilians , '' Watson said . Iraq 's Yazidis trapped , hiding from ISIS in the mountains . Kurdish official warns of genocide . Yazidis , among Iraq 's smallest minorities , are of Kurdish descent , and their religion is considered a pre-Islamic sect that draws from Christianity , Judaism and Zoroastrianism . One of the oldest religious communities in the world , they have long suffered persecution , with many Muslims referring to them as devil worshippers . More than a week ago , they fled into the surrounding mountains when ISIS fighters stormed the town of Sinjar . Now , trapped without food , water or medical care in the summer heat , thousands of families are in desperate need of help . A senior Kurdish official warned Monday of the potential of genocide against the Yazidi people . Speaking to CNN 's Watson , Fazil Mirani repeatedly called for a humanitarian intervention . He estimated that as many as 70,000 people remain trapped on Mount Sinjar , and that at least 100 people have died so far from dehydration and the heat . CNN could not independently confirm those estimates . Who are the religious and ethnic groups under threat from ISIS ? 'They flew in shooting ; they flew out shooting ' The United States on Monday conducted airstrikes on four ISIS checkpoints and `` multiple '' ISIS vehicles near Mount Sinjar , according to U.S. Central Command . `` Our aircraft remain positioned to strike any terrorist forces around the mountain who threaten the safety of these families , '' President Barack Obama said the same day . `` We 're working with international partners to develop options to bring them to safety . '' Back on the helicopter , the relief of those already rescued was palpable . The crowd on board burst into tears as the chopper took off . Young and old , women and men , civilians and servicemen -- all cried with the intensity of the moment . Gunners had to open fire at the ground in order to make it away from ISIS . `` They flew in shooting ; they flew out shooting , '' Watson reported . `` There was not a dry eye on the aircraft . '' Who are the Yazidis ? Why does ISIS want to kill them ? CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report .
The United States conducts raids around Mount Sinjar . Yazidis fled there to escape the attacks of ISIS . A helicopter crew was on the rescue mission . Yazidis , among Iraq 's smallest minorities , are of Kurdish origin .