Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who have captured the Iraqi town of Sinjar from ISIL say US-led coalition air strikes were crucial to their success.
That cooperation is proving to be a hallmark of the continuing fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
"We cut the road into Sinjar in the days before in coordinated efforts with our coalition partners," Colonel Ashti Kochar, a Peshmerga fighter, told Al Jazeera.
"We didn't see any resistance from ISIL. Air strikes played a crucial role."
Al Jazeera's Imran Khan reports from Sinjar.