Yazidi Teen Rescued After 11 Years in ISIS Captivity
A Yazidi man abducted at age 7 by ISIS in 2014 has been rescued near Raqqa after 11 years. The KRG says 3,589 Yazidis have been freed so far, with 2,500 still missing. A second rescue, of Yazidi woman Dima Amin, was also confirmed.
A young Yazidi man has been rescued from ISIS captivity after 11 harrowing years, marking a significant moment in ongoing efforts to liberate Yazidis abducted during the extremist group’s genocidal campaign in 2014. The news was announced on Sunday by the KRG's Kidnapped Yazidi Rescue Office.
Hussein Alqaidi, head of the KRG's Kidnapped Yazidi Rescue Office, confirmed at a press conference that a young Yazidi man named Rawand Nayif Hamid has been freed and reunited with his family.
Rawand, originally from the Khanasor community in the Sinjar district, was abducted at the age of seven and is now around 18. "After learning that he was in a village near the Syrian city of Raqqa, all necessary steps were taken, and he was successfully rescued within a short time," Alqaidi stated.
Alqaidi added that Rawand is the first of eight immediate family members whose whereabouts have been discovered. "All other family members were abducted by ISIS, and their fate remains unknown," he said.
According to Alqaidi, a total of 77 members from Rawand’s extended family were taken by ISIS, and to date, 38 of them have been rescued.
In another recent development, Alqaidi announced that a 23-year-old Yazidi woman, Dima Amin, from Kocho village in Sinjar, was also rescued two days ago. Dima had been abducted in 2014 at the age of 13, along with eight other family members.
Alqaidi reiterated the scale of the atrocities committed against the Yazidi community during ISIS’s attack on Sinjar on August 3, 2014. “During ISIS’s genocidal assault on Sinjar, the group massacred Yazidi Kurds and abducted 6,417 individuals,” he stated.
The latest rescue brings the total number of Yazidis liberated from ISIS captivity to 3,589. Alqaidi emphasized that the search for the remaining captives continues, with the fate of approximately 2,500 Yazidis still unknown.
Efforts to locate and rescue the remaining missing Yazidis are ongoing, and the Yazidi Rescue Office has reaffirmed its commitment to bringing every survivor home.
