ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Yazidi survivor has reunited with her family after a 12-year separation, following her abduction by Islamic State (ISIS) militants at the age of seven from the Yazidi community’s heartland of Shingal (Sinjar) in northern Iraq in 2014.
Meeting her family for the first time in over a decade, Jamila Bapir told Rudaw, “I am deeply grateful for this warm welcome, thank God,” speaking notably in Arabic rather than her native Kurdish.
She was rescued by the Office for Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
“After working on her case for several days, we transferred the survivor back to her relatives in Shingal,” Hussein Qaidi, head of the office, told Rudaw.
Rudaw learned that she was rescued from Syria, though Kurdish authorities declined to disclose her exact location during captivity, citing security concerns and ongoing efforts to rescue other abductees.
Five of Jamila’s immediate family members, including her mother and four siblings, had also been freed from ISIS captivity and are now living abroad. Her father, however, remains missing.
Her relative, Khawla Saido, said the family had long hoped for her return. “We are overjoyed to have her back - words can’t fully express our happiness. We have been waiting for this moment for 12 years.”
Following its advance into northern and western Iraq in 2014, ISIS seized control of nearly one-third of the country’s territory and launched a brutal campaign against the Yazidi community in Shingal.
The group abducted 6,417 Yazidi women and children, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. At least 5,000 Yazidi men and elderly women were killed.
The United Nations has recognized the attack on the Yazidis as an act of genocide.
According to Qaidi, as of May, 3,595 abducted Yazidis have been rescued, while around 2,500 remain missing.
