Yazidi Abducted by ISIS Recognized by Family on TV after Earthquake
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A Yazidi family from Sinjar (Shengal) in northern Iraq are asking authorities to track down their daughter. They say they saw her on television during the earthquakes that hit northwest Syria in February, Bas News reports.
Ziri Khalaf and her children were reportedly abducted from the town of Hardan in Sinjar during ISIS’ genocidal campaign in 2014 against the Yazidi religious community in the Sinjar region. Two of Khalaf’s children have been rescued. Khalaf and two other children have yet to be found.
During its rule, ISIS abducted 6.417 Yazidis from Sinjar. Just over half have been rescued.
Khalil Khalaf alleges he saw his sister during coverage of the earthquake in northwest Syria. The region is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS – formerly al-Nusra Front) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), a collection of armed factions. Both sides have been known to harbor former ISIS members.