Three Yezidi survivors welcomed home with tears, hugs

DUHOK, Kurdistan Region – Three members of one Yezidi family have been freed from ISIS captivity and reunited with their families. 

They had been held in Aleppo, one of the three, a young girl, told Rudaw. 

"We came from Aleppo. When fighting started and bombings were all around us, we begged God to help us return to our families and areas. I am now really thrilled for reuniting with our family and seeing my mother and brother. Thanks be to God," she said.

The three come from village of Kocho — UN Goodwill Ambassador Nadia Murad's hometown — in southern Shingal.  They were welcomed home with tears and hugs. 

A 14-year-old boy was among the three who were rescued. He no longer speaks his mother tongue and did not recognize his family members. 

More than 6,000 members of the religious minority were taken captive by ISIS when they swept through northern Iraqi, committing genocide against the Yezidis. Nearly half of them remain unaccounted for.