Yazidi woman kidnapped by IS rescued in Gaza by joint Israeli-US

TEL AVIV,— A young Yazidi woman from Iraq, abducted by Islamic State (ISIS) militants nearly a decade ago, has been successfully rescued from Gaza this week, following a covert operation that was months in the making and involved Israel, the United States, and Iraq.

The operation, shrouded in secrecy, culminated in her release amid complex diplomatic and military coordination, officials have revealed.

The 21-year-old woman, Fawzia Amin Sido, is a member of the Yazidi community, an ancient religious minority mostly concentrated in Iraq and Syria. In 2014, Yazidis became one of the prime targets of ISIS’s brutal campaign, which saw more than 5,000 Yazidis killed and thousands more abducted in what the United Nations has described as genocide.

Many Yazidi women were subjected to sexual slavery, while children were forced into ISIS’s militant ranks.

The details of the operation that freed Sido are emerging gradually. Silwan Sinjaree, the chief of staff for Iraq’s foreign minister, shared that efforts to secure her release had been ongoing for over four months.

However, previous attempts were unsuccessful due to the precarious security conditions in Gaza, where Israel has been conducting military operations. Sido’s release comes as a significant achievement for the countries involved, overcoming the intense challenges on the ground.

Sido’s ordeal began in 2014, when she was kidnapped by ISIS from her home in Iraq at just 11 years old.

Over the years, she was trafficked to Gaza, where she remained captive. It was only after her captor was killed—reportedly during Israel’s recent Gaza military campaign—that she managed to escape and seek help. Her repatriation became possible through a delicate coordination between Iraq, Israel, and the U.S.

According to Sinjaree, Sido is now back with her family in northern Iraq, though she is still recovering from her traumatic experience.

While physically unharmed, she is understandably suffering from emotional distress after years in captivity and the devastating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

Iraqi officials confirmed that Sido had been resting with her family, who had been anxiously awaiting her return.

Though Iraq and Israel do not have formal diplomatic ties, they worked together in this case through indirect channels. Israeli military officials confirmed they coordinated closely with the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and other international parties to secure her release.

Yazidi woman Fawzia Amin Sido rescued by Israeli forces — Yazidi girl Fawzia Amin Sido (R), 21, who was kidnapped by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 at the age of 11, sold in Iraq, and later trafficked to Gaza, has been rescued this week by Israeli and U.S. forces after ten years. She meets her relatives at an unknown location in Iraq, October 2024. Photo: Video/X

The Israeli military stated that her captor had been killed in Gaza during the conflict, which allowed Sido to find refuge in a hideout. From there, she was rescued in a “complex operation” that led her through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Israel.

After crossing into Israel, she was transferred to Jordan via the Allenby Bridge and eventually reunited with her family in Iraq. The U.S. State Department confirmed its role in assisting with the evacuation.

A spokesperson said the U.S. helped facilitate her safe return, ensuring she was reunited with her loved ones.

Though the American military did not directly participate in the operation, the U.S. played a vital role in coordinating efforts between the involved countries.

Iraq had been in communication with Sido for months before the rescue, providing information to U.S. authorities that ultimately aided in her extraction.

This successful rescue highlights the broader tragedy that Yazidis have endured under ISIS rule.

In August 2014, ISIS militants launched a brutal assault on the Sinjar district in northwest Iraq, a region home to hundreds of thousands of Yazidis.

Tribal leader Massoud Barzani — KDP party leader and the head of Barzani clan, Massoud Barzani, 2018. Photo: PA

This devastating attack unfolded after the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) militia forces, under the leadership of then-president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, withdrew from the area without resistance.

Despite having 18,000 KDP Peshmerga forces stationed there, the KDP abandoned the Yazidi civilians to face ISIS atrocities, leaving them defenseless and exposed to systematic genocide.

As the KDP forces retreated without putting up a fight, thousands of Yazidis were forced to flee to Mount Sinjar, where they were trapped and suffered from extreme shortages of water and food. During this horrific period, ISIS abducted, raped, and murdered thousands of Yazidis. Women were subjected to sexual slavery and trafficking, while men and boys were either killed, forced into labor, or coerced into becoming child soldiers.

The KDP Peshmerga’s sudden and unexplained withdrawal directly facilitated the massacre. Despite the Peshmerga’s strength and positioning, their retreat left the Yazidis vulnerable to ISIS’ barbarity.

Kurdish KDP Barzani militants flee Yazidi Sinjar region — Barzani’s KDP Peshmerga fighters flee from the Yazidi Sinjar area without a fight leaving behind the Yazidi civilians to Islamic State killing and genocide, on August 3, 2014, northwest Iraq. Photo: Screenshot/Ronahi TV/via iKurd.net

An unpublished report by Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government confirms that no defense was mounted when ISIS launched its assault on Sinjar on August 3, 2014.

Over the course of several days, around 3,000 Yazidis were slaughtered, and 6,800 others were abducted. The KDP’s abandonment of Sinjar is widely condemned as a catastrophic failure to protect the Yazidi people.

In the years since the genocide, more than 3,000 Yazidis remain missing despite rescue efforts. Many Yazidis and critics lay the blame squarely on Massoud Barzani, commander-in-chief of the KDP Peshmerga, whose forces failed them in their time of greatest need. The community’s trust in the Barzani family and KDP leadership has been shattered by this betrayal, which many believe directly enabled the ISIS-led genocide.

The Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking religious group with ties to ancient Mesopotamian beliefs and practices, have long been misunderstood and persecuted. Before the 2014 assault, around 600,000 Yazidis lived in the Kurdistan region and Nineveh province, but with ISIS taking control of large areas, 360,000 Yazidis managed to flee and find refuge elsewhere.

Yazidi communities also exist in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, and Syria, with significant migration to Europe, especially Germany, since the 1990s. Today, the global Yazidi population stands at nearly 1.5 million.

The KDP’s failure to defend Sinjar and its inhabitants has left an indelible mark, causing deep-seated resentment and raising serious questions about the leadership’s priorities during this dark chapter of Yazidi history.

(With files from Reuters | Agencies)