Yazidi woman rescued during anti-ISIS op in northeast Syria
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish forces in northeast Syria rescued a Yazidi woman during an operation in al-Hol camp, ending her nearly a decade of captivity by the Islamic State (ISIS).
“The YPJ has successfully liberated the Yazidi woman Kovan Aidi Khourto from ISIS in the al-Hol camp,” the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) tweeted on Sunday. The Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) is an all-female partner force of the SDF.
“Kovan is originally from Hardan village in Shangal, and she was abducted by ISIS during the Shangal/Sinjar massacre in 2014,” the SDF stated, sharing a photograph of the woman with two young children who were not identified.
When ISIS swept through the Yazidi heartland of Shingal in August 2014, committing genocide, the group abducted 6,417 women and children who were forced into sexual slavery and labour. Around 2,700 of them are still missing. Many have been rescued from al-Hol, the notorious camp that houses tens of thousands of ISIS families and supporters.
The sprawling camp has been criticized for its poor conditions and insecurity. Many of the residents still hold ISIS ideology and the camp has been dubbed a breeding ground for terrorism.
Kurdish forces have conducted several security operations in the camp. On Saturday, they announced the capture of an ISIS facilitator “responsible for spreading extremism among the ranks of children.”
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