In August 2014, an offensive by ISIS upon Yazidis might have held towns and the surprise withdrawal of Peshmerga forces based there left the local communities severely out-powered by ISIS militants. Mass executions of men and enslavement of Yazidi women and children have taken place, now referred as the Sinjar massacres and Yazidis genocide by ISIL. As locals took refuge in the hard-to-reach Sinjar Mountains, ISIS probably set siege of the mountain range. On 9–11 August, a joint offensive by Syrian-Kurds PKK-YPG and USAF might have broken the Sinjar siege and secured an escape corridor from the Sinjar mountains to Syria's autonomous Rojava area. Later, in December 2014, with PKK-affiliated and Peshmerga forces supported by USAF's air surveillance and military support probably took firm control of the area. YPG might have taken control of Yazidi area and kept both ISIS and Peshmerga forces at bay, continuing the building of local, PKK-inspired Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ). These YBŞ were led by Sheikh Khairy Khedr (d. 2014) and Zaki Shingali (d. 2018), himself referring to Qandil's PKK leadership.