ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An all-female Kurdish force in northeast Syria rescued a 21-year-old Yazidi woman who had been held captive by the Islamic State (ISIS) for 11 years.
Riham H. “was rescued by the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) and handed over to Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) and Shingal Women's Units (YJS) to be returned to her family,” the YPJ said in a statement on Thursday.
Riham was kidnapped by ISIS during its 2014 occupation of Shingal (Sinjar). She was 10 years old at the time of her abduction.
The statement did not detail where she had been held captive.
My feelings are indescribable because I am happy. I did not expect all of this - that I would return to my family - because they extinguished hope at the end. They told me, 'You Yazidis are within our grasp. If you return to your families, they will slay you.' They used to scare us a lot," Riham told Rudaw, surrounded by her family.
"Finally, I established communication with my brother Sa'ad. He contacted friends from the Women's Protection Units. They freed me and saved me from Daesh [ISIS]," she said, adding, "I thank the Women's Protection Units, the YPJ. They freed me after 12 years. I could not imagine that I would return to my family and people."
The YPJ is the women’s branch of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Kurdish female fighters have been recognized for their fight against ISIS, in particular their role in defending the besieged Kurdish town of Kobane in 2014-2015.
The force said their “struggle against the terrorist organization ISIS will continue with all its difficulties” until all the missing Yazidi women are rescued. Yazidi women and men who were children at the time of their abduction continue to be rescued from across Syria and the Middle East.During its 2014 assault on Shingal, ISIS abducted 6,417 Yazidi women and children, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. Nearly 2,600 of them are still missing, according to the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
After 11 years in ISIS captivity, Riham H. is welcomed home. The Yazidi woman was freed by an all-female Kurdish force in Syria.
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) July 25, 2025
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Although ISIS was territorially defeated in Iraq by 2017 and in Syria by 2019, it continues to pose a security threat in the region.
