Kurdistan
Yazidis conducting ceremonies in Lalish Temple in Duhok celebrating the start of their new year on April 19, 2023. Photo: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Yazidi woman from Shingal (Sinjar) kidnapped by Islamic State (ISIS) militants in 2014 has been reunited with her family in Duhok province after she was rescued from an undisclosed location, a source affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency said on Saturday.
The 34-year-old woman identified only by her initials F.S, was “kidnapped by ISIS in 2014” and “was living with an ISIS family,” Hussein Qaidi, head of the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, told Rudaw. The office is affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
She was rescued on Saturday, ending more than 10 years of captivity, and “reunited with her family who lives in one of the camps in Duhok,” Qaidi said, noting that her family requested that the location where she had been held not be disclosed.
She is the third Yazidi woman to be rescued from ISIS captivity in the past two months. A 30-year old was rescued on January 5 and a 29-year-old on December 9 - both were located in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province.
In its assault on Shingal in 2014, ISIS militants abducted 6,417 Yazidi women and children, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. Although the group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, it continues to pose a security risk.
To date, 2,590 individuals are still missing, according to statistics provided by Qaidi.
Many Yazidi women and children have been rescued from al-Hol, the notorious camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) that houses tens of thousands of ISIS families and supporters. Others have been found in areas of Syria controlled by rebels or Turkish-backed armed groups, and some have been located in third countries.
The 34-year-old woman identified only by her initials F.S, was “kidnapped by ISIS in 2014” and “was living with an ISIS family,” Hussein Qaidi, head of the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, told Rudaw. The office is affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
She was rescued on Saturday, ending more than 10 years of captivity, and “reunited with her family who lives in one of the camps in Duhok,” Qaidi said, noting that her family requested that the location where she had been held not be disclosed.
She is the third Yazidi woman to be rescued from ISIS captivity in the past two months. A 30-year old was rescued on January 5 and a 29-year-old on December 9 - both were located in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province.
In its assault on Shingal in 2014, ISIS militants abducted 6,417 Yazidi women and children, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. Although the group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, it continues to pose a security risk.
To date, 2,590 individuals are still missing, according to statistics provided by Qaidi.
Many Yazidi women and children have been rescued from al-Hol, the notorious camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) that houses tens of thousands of ISIS families and supporters. Others have been found in areas of Syria controlled by rebels or Turkish-backed armed groups, and some have been located in third countries.
Ayub Nasri contributed to this report.
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