Christian girl kidnapped by IS reunited with family in Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A young Christian girl who had been kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) three years ago was reunited with her family on Friday.

Christina Nuh, 6-years-old, was abducted from her family by IS insurgents in August 2014 when she was only 3-years-old.

“The best day of my life is the day when Christina came back,” said her mother, Aida Nuh, on Saturday.

The militant group took Christina from her family shortly after invading the town of Qaraqosh, 15 kilometers (10 miles) southeast of Mosul.

“She stayed three years with the terrorists,” Aida said. “Of course, she forgot who her mother is, who her father is, that we are her family, but she will learn again.”

After their emergence in Iraq in 2014, IS kidnapped thousands of men, women, and children from minority groups such as Christians and Yezidis (Ezidis).

Facing no resistance from the Iraqi Army, the extremists were able to occupy the Christian towns and villages in August 2014.

Christina was kidnapped after her family was forcibly displaced to the edge of IS territory in a minibus, Aida previously told Kurdistan24.

“An IS militant who was driving took Christina away from me,” she said.

“I got off the bus three times begging the militant to give her back, but he refused,” Aida added.

For years, the family tried desperately to find Christina and were rewarded for their patience on Friday when they received a call that she had been located in the Hayy al-Tanak neighborhood in Mosul.

The family now lives in Ankawa, a Christian suburb in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.