Iraqi forces broke through to the town of Amerli Sunday besieged by militants of the so-called ’Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL), where thousands of people have been trapped for more than two months.

Iraqi forces broke through to the town of Amerli Sunday besieged by militants of the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL), where thousands of people have been trapped for more than two months with dwindling food and water, officials said.

"Our forces entered Amerli and broke the siege," Iraqi security spokesman Lieutenant General Qassem Atta told AFP.

Iraqi security forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters took part in the operation, which was launched on Saturday after days of preparations in which the various forces deployed for the assault and Iraqi aircraft carried out strikes against militants.

Thousands of people had been trapped in Amerli since June, when ISIL-led militants launched a major offensive that overran chunks of five Iraqi provinces, sweeping security forces aside.

Residents of Amerli faced major shortages of food and water, and were in danger both because of their Shiite faith and their resistance to the terrorist militants, which has drawn harsh retribution elsewhere.

The United States announced that it carried out three air strikes in the Amerli area, the first time its more than three-week air campaign against ISIL in Iraq has been expanded outside the north.

And aircraft from the United States, Australia, France and the United Kingdom also dropped humanitarian aid to the town, the Pentagon announced on Saturday.