U.S. Airstrikes Help Iraqi Forces Break Islamic State's Siege

Iraqi troops aided by U.S. airstrikes entered the besieged town of Amerli Sunday, residents and Iraqi officials said, after a months-long blockade by Islamic State militants that had surrounded the Shiite Turkmen village and raised fears of an impending massacre.

"Amerli has been liberated," said Mahdi Taqi, a local politician and Amerli resident who was inside the town during the siege. "There is so much joy and people are cheering in the streets."

Jihadists had surrounded the town in June, preventing food and other aid from reaching the population there. Residents had armed themselves to fend off the militants, who have made sweeping gains across the country in recent months, but critical supplies began to run low.