ISIS still holds some Yazidis

Islam News – Seven years after they were captured by the Islamic State, more than 3,000 members of the Iraqi religious minority are still missing.

Most are presumed dead. But hundreds more are thought to be alive and held captive in Syria or Turkey. In some cases, their families know where they are and have been in contact with them or their captors, according to The New York Times.

But financial support and interest from governments and private donors has dried up. Now, some of the captured children have forgotten that they are Yazidi.

Background: In 2014, when ISIS established a self-declared caliphate in Iraq and parts of Syria, fighters embarked on a campaign of genocide against the ancient sect. They killed more than 3,000 and captured 6,000, sexually enslaving many of the women and girls.

One family: Islamic State fighters captured Abbas Hussein’s teenage son from Iraq, and five other relatives. The boy is being forced to work in Syria for about $1 a day. The captors are demanding $9,000 for each of his relatives.

Source: The New York Times