Iraq: Over 350 Yazidi women freed from Daesh in Fallujah
Iraqi forces have managed to rescue 354 Izadi women from the Daesh in the recently-liberated city of Fallujah, an Yazidi official with Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) says.
“Iraqi forces involved in Fallujah’s [liberation] operation have managed to free 354 Izadi women, who were abducted by militants of Daesh organization after they took control of the Izadi-majority Shingal (Sinjar) region in August 2014,” Hadi Dubani, the director of Yazidi Affairs in the city of Dohuk, told the German news agency DPA on Sunday.
Dubani further said the women are now in al-Amiriyah area, south of Fallujah, “under the protection of Iraqi forces,” adding Iraqi forces are arranging their return to the Kurdistan region.
Iraqi forces announced on June 17 that they had seized almost full control over the strategic city of Fallujah, which had been in the hands of Daesh for almost two and a half years.
According to Iraq’s al-Masalah news website, the volunteer fighters known as the Popular Mobilization forces or Hashd al-Shaabi will oversee the women’s return to their areas after taking the necessary security and health measures.