Dohuk, Iraq: Extremist fighters swarmed into a besieged Yazidi village on Friday and killed or captured dozens of residents, according to Yazidi and Kurdish commanders, offering a reminder that the ancient minority sect is still in danger despite US President Barack Obama's conclusion the risk had passed for a group stranded on Mount Sinjar.

Islamic State (also known as ISIL) militants surged into Kocho, on the nearby Sinjar Plain, after a week-long siege in which the al-Qaeda-inspired group demanded the residents convert to Islam or face death, according to the reports.

The men were rounded up and executed, while the women were taken to an undisclosed location, said Ziad Sinjar, a Peshmerga commander based on the edge of Mount Sinjar, citing the accounts of villagers nearby. He put the number of dead at 42 and said 80 women and children had been taken from the village.

Yazidi activists said at least 80 men were killed and hundreds of women taken away.

The alleged killings came a day after Mr Obama called off plans for a military evacuation of Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, saying they were no longer at risk.

Washington Post