A young Yazidi man abducted by Islamic State (ISIS) militants as a child in 2014 has been freed in eastern Syria after more than eleven years in captivity, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Tuesday.
Othman Khairu Khodi Da, originally from the Yazidi village of Al-Wardiya in Iraq’s Sinjar (Şengal) region, was rescued during a special SDF operation on 12 March 2025, the group announced this week. The SDF said he had been captured along with his family during ISIS’s genocidal assault on Sinjar on 3 August 2014, which left thousands dead and led to the abduction of more than 7,000 women and children.
“I was just eight when they took us,” Othman recalled, describing how he was separated from his family in Mosul before being transferred to Al-Bukamal, Syria, with around 60 other Yazidi boys.
According to his account, he was subjected to a three-year indoctrination programme under ISIS and given the name “Osama Al-Sinjari”. He was later moved to the Syrian desert for military training, eventually fighting for ISIS for four years in Homs province.
Othman said he was seriously wounded by a landmine, and while receiving treatment at an ISIS hideout in late 2024, an international coalition airstrike struck the location, killing 20 militants, including senior figures. He miraculously survived.
His liberation is one of several such rescues by the SDF, a US-backed Kurdish-led force that played a central role in the territorial defeat of ISIS. Thousands of Yazidis have been freed in recent years, but the fate of many, especially women, remains unknown.
“This operation highlights the continued threat posed by hidden ISIS cells and the ongoing efforts to rescue victims of their atrocities,” the SDF said.
Othman expressed relief and gratitude upon his release: “I thank the SDF for freeing me. I hope all Yazidis still in captivity will one day be rescued.”
The Yazidi community continues to demand justice and accountability for the genocide, with international efforts ongoing to document crimes and locate the missing.
