"On Friday, a US military unit was stationed in the Chel Mira area of Shingal with the aim of creating political stability there," Mahma Khalil, mayor of Shingal, told Rudaw.
"Since yesterday, this American military unit went to some places including Domiz military base and Barayi area on the border between the Kurdistan Region and Syrian Kurdistan. Later the unit went to Chel Mira on Mount Shingal," Qasim Shesho, Peshmerga military commander in Shingal, told Rudaw.
It is believed that Chel Mira is where Saddam Hussein launched military strikes against Israel in 1991.
Khalil said he hopes the American forces will stay for the long term as their presence will encourage Yezidis to return to Shingal. Thousands of families are still sheltering in Duhok province because of ongoing insecurity in Shingal and lack of services.
ISIS militants attacked Shingal in August 2014, committing genocide against the Yezidi population. Kurdish forces liberated Shingal in 2015. The area came under Iraqi control in October 2017.
