Turkomen

In Syria, the Pentagon has backed local militias made up of Kurds, Arabs and Turkomen, with weapons and air support.

Shia Arab and Turkomen militias have formed to back the government – knowing that defeat could lead to their extermination at the hands of the extremists.

There were fears that militants would carry out further atrocities in Tal Afar, which is ethnically mixed and made up of Shias and Sunni Turkomen.

Throughout the past decade since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Tal Afar was often hit by car bombings and other attacks by Sunni militants, targeting its Turkomen minority.

There are fears that militants will carry out further atrocities in Tal Afar, an ethnically mixed town made up of Shias and Sunni Turkomen.