It is also the third deadliest act of terrorism in world history, after the September 11 attacks in the United States, and the Camp Speicher massacre, also in Iraq.
For several months leading up to the attack, tensions had been building up in the area, particularly between Yazidis and Sunni Muslims (both Arabs and Kurds).
[11] The Sinjar area, which has a mixed population of Yazidis, Kurds, Assyrians, Turkmen and Arabs, was scheduled to vote in a plebiscite on accession to the Kurdistan Region in December 2007.
A force of 600 Kurdish Peshmerga was subsequently deployed in the area, and ditches were dug around Yazidi villages to prevent further attacks.
We need food, medicine and water otherwise there will be an even greater catastrophe," said Abdul-Rahim al-Shimari, mayor of the Baaj district, which includes the devastated villages.