VIDEO: 19-year-old Ezidi girl kidnapped by IS at 15 reunited with family in Kurdistan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – After nearly four years in the hands of the Islamic State (IS), a 19-year-old Yezidi (Ezidi) girl was rescued by Kurdistan Region security forces and reunited with her family in Zakho.

Delal Mohsen was kidnapped at the age of 15 by IS militants in the Ezidi-populated region of Sinjar (Shingal).

She spoke to Kurdistan 24 about her horrific experiences where she was bought and sold in the group’s sex slave market and taken from Iraq to Syria to Turkey.

Her family, who live at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the Duhok governorate’s city of Zakho, said they called on the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) to help locate and rescue her.  

“My father bought me from [the IS market] then took me to Nusaybin [on the border of Syria and Turkey]. He paid to take me to Turkey and eventually reunited me with my family,” she told Kurdistan 24. “I ask that my father is compensated for spending nearly $20,000 to rescue me.”

Since her capture by IS and her liberation by KRSC forces, who facilitated her return from Ankara to Zakho, her family said they are grateful to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and have asked that it continues to provide support to their family.

“Thank God my sister was rescued from IS captivity and brought home,” her brother stated. “I pray all Ezidis will be rescued safely.”

When IS emerged in mid-2014, they targeted minority groups in northern Iraq and Syria, committing genocide against the Ezidis in Shingal.

According to statistics from Ezidi officials, out of 7,500 missing Ezidis, over 3,270 have been rescued while the whereabouts of 3,150 are unknown.

(Kurdistan 24 correspondent Islam Yousif contributed to this report)