Kurdish government: US should 'expand airstrikes' in Iraq

The US should "expand airstrikes" in northern Iraq and provide the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters with ammunition and heavy weapons, according to Kurdistan regional government coordinator Dindar Zebari.

Mr Zebari said there was not a "significant American presence" in the area but the airstrikes had been effective and raised morale among the Kurdish fighters.

However, in response to the American assertion that conditions on Mt Sinjar were not as bad as first feared, he said "no concrete assessment" could be made.

The UN has declared its highest level of emergency over the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and many refugees are fleeing to the Kurdish areas.