A Yazidi woman who was kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) at age 11 was rescued from the Gaza Strip after a decade.
Iraqi foreign ministry official Silwan Sinjaree announced last week that a secret operation involving Iraq, the United States, and Israel successfully rescued the 21-year-old Fawzia Sido after four months of efforts.
Sinjaree explained that the rescue operation faced several challenges due to Israeli attacks on Gaza. He added that although Sido was in good physical condition, she was mentally traumatized from her prolonged captivity and the harsh conditions in Gaza.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani reportedly oversaw the rescue operation alongside U.S. officials while attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Sources indicated that Iraqi officials had contacted Sido for several months and sent her personal information to Israel with U.S. assistance.
The Israeli military also released a statement, noting that they conducted a complex secret operation in collaboration with the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem and “other foreign entities” to rescue Sido.
When her captor died during the Gaza conflict, she managed to escape and hide while waiting for her rescue. Israel suggested that his death might have resulted from an Israeli airstrike.
The Israeli military reported that after her rescue from Gaza, Sido traveled through Israel and Jordan before reuniting with her family in northern Iraq.
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department confirmed that the U.S. assisted the Yazidi woman, who was kidnapped at 11 and trafficked to Gaza, in safely departing Gaza on Tuesday to reunite with her family.
A U.S. Department of Defense official stated that the U.S. military did not participate in the rescue operation.
In 2014, IS attacked the Yazidi community in Sinjar, northern Iraq, killing over 5,000 men and abducting around 6,000 women. The Yazidis primarily reside in northern Iraq and speak Kurdish, practicing a unique religion that blends elements of Christianity, Islam, and ancient Persian Zoroastrianism. IS considers the Yazidis as devil worshippers.
After years of efforts, over 3,500 Yazidis have returned, but around 2,600 remain missing.
 at age 11 was rescued from the Gaza Strip after a decade.){kind=link}