Iraqi Forces Free Group of Yazidi Women From ISIS: Defence Min

ISIS considers the Yazidis to be devil-worshippers.

In a covert operation, Iraqi security forces freed a group of Yazidi women. (Photo: AP)

Iraqi security forces freed a group of Yazidi women held captive by ISIS in a covert operation behind the group’s lines, a defence ministry statement said on Wednesday.

It did not say how many women were freed, when or where.

Islamic State captured around 5,000 Yazidi men and women in the northern region of Sinjar in summer 2014.

Some 2,000 have managed to escape or have been smuggled out of Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria, activists say.

Islamic State considers the Yazidis to be devil-worshippers. The ancient Yazidi faith blends elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Islam.