Three Ezidis rescued from Islamic State captivity

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Office of Ezidi Abductees on Tuesday announced the rescue of three Ezidis kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) in 2014.

Hussein Qaidi, Head of the KRG Office in Duhok, said in a statement that they had rescued an Ezidi girl in Syria.

Lazma Khairo, a 24-year-old from the village of Hardan near Shingal, was rescued in Syria after “intense and challenging efforts.” The KRG Office also managed to reunite her with her family.

“The staff at the office are working day and night to rescue the abducted Ezidis from the hands of IS terrorists,” Qaidi said.

According to the official, since the Ezidi Rescue Office opened at the end of 2014, they have been able to save 3,331 people who were captured and held by the families of terrorists. IS kidnaped 6,417 Ezidis.

Meanwhile, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said in a statement on Tuesday that their forces were able to rescue two Ezidis in Syria four years after their abduction.

The rescued Ezidis are Inas Rasho, 12, from Khanasor village, and Malko Khidhir Koti, 40, from Kocho village in Shingal district.

Ezidis were subjected to atrocities and mass executions at the hands of the extremist group for many years after IS overran Shingal in mid-2014, forcing hundreds of thousands of the ethnoreligious minority to flee their homes. Others were not as lucky and remained stranded in the war zone.

IS is known for having subjected women to sexual slavery, kidnapped children for forced conversion, executed the men, abused, sold, and trafficked girls across areas they controlled in Iraq and Syria.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany