They have been taken into IS captivity after the jihadist group overran Sinjar
FALLUJAH — A Kurdish Yazidi official in Dohuk province revealed that over 350 Yazidi abductees have been freed from the Islamic State (IS) by the Iraqi forces in Fallujah.
Hadi Dubani, the director of Yazidi Affairs in Dohuk province, told BasNews that they were informed today, June 19, by the Iraqi forces that 354 Yazidi women and girls, previously abducted by the IS militants in Sinjar, have been freed in Fallujah by the Iraqi forces.
Dubani said “The freed Yazidi women are now in Amirya area in Fallujah under the protection of the Iraqi forces. they are expected to arrive in Kurdistan Region in the near future.
Earlier this month, 4 Yazidi girls were freed by the Iraqi forces soon after the Fallujah offensive was launched; they were later reunited with their families in Erbil.
The Directorate of Yazidi Abductees Affairs in Dohuk province, which works to locate and free Yazidi captives, previously told BasNews that hundreds of Yazidi girls, who were abducted by the IS militants during the Sinjar massacre, were held in Fallujah with an uncertain future.
IS militants enslaved over 5000 Yazidi girls, women and children after they attacked the Yazidi major town of Sinjar in August, 2014; near 2000 Yazidi abductees have so far been freed from the grip of the IS militants with thousands more still being held by the extremist group.
The rescue of the Yazidi women comes after the Iraqi government forces entered Fallujah last Friday and liberated most of the city from IS.