[17] Kurdish forces had secured the wheat silo, cement factory, hospital and several other public buildings in the northern part of the city, with reports that ISIL had fled Sinjar prior to the offensive.

[15] At least 30 airstrikes by American warplanes, intended to soften up ISIL's military positions and uproot its fighters, were reported to have occurred on Thursday before the ground attack.

[2] Filmmaker Carsten Stormer, who was embedded with the western frontline, reported they didn't face any fighting from the side of the Islamic State: "There was no resistance — I mean zero."

[2] According to The Economist, "IS forces reportedly pulled out of the town after two days of intense fighting, allowing the Peshmerga to walk in virtually unopposed on November 12th.

In course of these clashes, both ISIL as well as coalition forces suffered casualties; among them was the PKK field commander Newroz Hatim, who was killed near Midian village.

[1][13] Haydar Shesho, commander of the Protection Force of Sinjar (HPŞ), who before had been allied with the KRG peshmerga, warned of a "war over flags" and referred to the next battle being "the abolition of the one-party dictatorship".

[1] Following the recapture, in Solagh, east of Sinjar city, Kurdish forces found a mass grave[31] with the remains of at least 78 Yazidi women believed to be executed by ISIL militants.

[33] According to witnesses, in an alleged act of retaliation, members of the Yazidi minority looted and burned Sunni Muslim houses following the recapture of the city.

In the course of the Islamic State's Northern Iraq offensive in August 2014, some Sunni inhabitants had allegedly identified local Yazidis to the jihadists, thereby enabling the following Sinjar massacre.