The underground fortress allowed ISIS to evade air strikes while providing a protected place to store firepower and explosives. The ceilings were reinforced with metal braces, and the sides of the walls were fortified with sandbags. The tunnels, which were made to be tall enough for a man to stand up, were electrified and stocked with U.S.-made munitions, scattered with medicine (including prescription drugs such as painkillers and antibiotics), and had shelves with Qurans (because, you know, this has nothing to do with Islam). The underground city also included sleeping quarters.

ISIS has created an elaborate underground tunnel system beneath the Iraqi town of Sinjar. Per an AP report , the tunnels were discovered by Kurdish fighters after they regained control of the city earlier this month. The Kurds found 30 to 40 tunnels carved out of rock. Each tunnel started and ended at a home, where holes were knocked out in floors or walls.

The commander’s words echo true for so many around the world as jihad claims lives, the caliphate expands, and the West, with the United States pulling up the rear, keeps its increasingly vulnerable head in the sand.

Eado, the peshmerga commander, said that as Kurdish forces clear Sinjar of explosives, he expects to find more tunnels and evidence of atrocities.

After pushing IS out of Sinjar, peshmerga officials and local residents have uncovered two mass graves in the area. One, not far from the city center is estimated to hold 78 elderly women's bodies. The second grave uncovered about 9 miles (15 kilometers) west of Sinjar contained between 50 and 60 bodies of men, women and children.

The Islamic State group took control of Sinjar in August 2014, killing and capturing thousands of the town's mostly Yazidi residents. Yazidis, a religious minority in Iraq with roots that date back to ancient Mesopotamia, are considered heretics by the hard-line Islamic State group. Hundreds of women are thought to still be in IS captivity, those who have escaped say many Yazidi women are forced to convert to Islam and marry IS fighters.

ISIS has created an elaborate underground tunnel system beneath the Iraqi town of Sinjar. Per an AP report, the tunnels were discovered by Kurdish fighters after they regained control of the city earlier this month. The Kurds found 30 to 40 tunnels carved out of rock. Each tunnel started and ended at a home, where holes were knocked out in floors or walls.

The underground fortress allowed ISIS to evade air strikes while providing a protected place to store firepower and explosives. The ceilings were reinforced with metal braces, and the sides of the walls were fortified with sandbags. The tunnels, which were made to be tall enough for a man to stand up, were electrified and stocked with U.S.-made munitions, scattered with medicine (including prescription drugs such as painkillers and antibiotics), and had shelves with Qurans (because, you know, this has nothing to do with Islam). The underground city also included sleeping quarters.

The AP report continued:

The Islamic State group took control of Sinjar in August 2014, killing and capturing thousands of the town's mostly Yazidi residents. Yazidis, a religious minority in Iraq with roots that date back to ancient Mesopotamia, are considered heretics by the hard-line Islamic State group. Hundreds of women are thought to still be in IS captivity, those who have escaped say many Yazidi women are forced to convert to Islam and marry IS fighters. After pushing IS out of Sinjar, peshmerga officials and local residents have uncovered two mass graves in the area. One, not far from the city center is estimated to hold 78 elderly women's bodies. The second grave uncovered about 9 miles (15 kilometers) west of Sinjar contained between 50 and 60 bodies of men, women and children. Eado, the peshmerga commander, said that as Kurdish forces clear Sinjar of explosives, he expects to find more tunnels and evidence of atrocities. "It's just a matter of time," he said.

The commander’s words echo true for so many around the world as jihad claims lives, the caliphate expands, and the West, with the United States pulling up the rear, keeps its increasingly vulnerable head in the sand.

(Short video of the tunnels is embedded in the AP piece.)