PHOTOS: Kurdish security, Peshmerga free 36 Ezidis from IS

DOHUK, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Yezidi (Ezidi) official on Saturday announced Kurdish security and Peshmerga forces freed a group of kidnapped Ezidis held captive by the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul.

Five of the rescued are men, at least five are women, and the rest are children, the head of the Dohuk office for liberating kidnapped Ezidis from IS Hussein Qaidi told reporters during a press conference.

Most of them belong to one family, he added.

He mentioned they were rescued at midnight on Friday with the help of the Kurdish security and Ezidi Peshmerga forces in Sinjar (Shingal).

Qaidi highlighted the role of the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in their intensive efforts to free the kidnapped Ezidis from the insurgent group.

Special doctors will provide medical checks for the 36 Ezidis to analyze their physical and psychological conditions, according to Qaidi.

The Ezidi official also noted the number of rescued Ezidis from IS by the PM’s office had now passed 3,000 individuals: 336 men, 1,076 women, and 1,589 children.

Qaidi did not mention the details of how they were rescued but stated their office would continue to free the remaining Ezidis from IS.

In August 2014, the militant group occupied the Ezidi-populated city of Shingal, west of Mosul.

The group kidnapped Ezidi people, enslaved women, and committed mass executions against Ezidi men.

In November 2016, Peshmerga forces with the support of the US-led coalition airstrikes liberated the city from IS.

The city remains extensively destroyed, and very few people have returned to their homes due to the lack of basic services.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany