US JET fighters conducted further air strikes on Islamic State (Isis) fighters in the Sinjar region of Iraq this weekend.

The strikes put out of action armoured cars that were reportedly firing on civilians.

US Central Command said the Isis vehicles were firing indiscriminately on people from the minority Yezidi community taking shelter in the Sinjar mountains.

It was the third round of air strikes against Isis forces by the US military since they were authorised by President Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, France and Britain joined a desperate race to save the refugees from starvation.

US and Iraqi cargo planes have been airdropping food and water over Mount Sinjar with varied success — witnesses reported water containers from the first drop all burst on impact.

Britain has also chipped in with two planes headed to Iraq with water, tents, tarpaulins and solar lights.

Thousand of Yezidis are stranded on Mount Sinjar in searing summer heat with little food and water.

Up to 5,000 have managed to leave the mountain but the majority remain trapped.

Kurdish fighters from Iraq, Syria and Turkey have escorted Yezidis to safety in the Kurdish autonomous area. Others have fled to Syria — so desperate was their situation, they sought safety in the war-torn country.

And many thousands are still arriving at camp Bajid Kandala in northern Iraq.

To get there, the Yezidis have to trek across a rocky mountain chain in temperatures of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, cross into neighbouring Syria and then loop back into Iraq to reach the camp, which is already crammed with 30,000 people.