During a special security operation conducted on March 12, 2025, the Military Operations Teams (TOL) of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) managed to free a young Yazidi man who had been captured along with his family by ISIS militants during their brutal attack on Shengal (Sinjar) on August 3, 2014.

In a statement about the operation, the SDF Press Center said: “Our forces succeeded in rescuing the kidnapped Yazidi man, “Othman Khairu Khodi Da”, from the grip of the terrorist organization after more than eleven years of his abduction. Othman is originally from the village of “Al-Wardiya” in the Shengal region, which witnessed large-scale massacres committed by ISIS, where thousands of men, youngsters, and elderly were killed, and more than seven thousand women and girls were abducted. Othman was one of the victims of that massacre.”

Othman recounted his abduction, stating: “I was born in 2006, and I was just a child when ISIS kidnapped me in 2014. After being captured with my family, ISIS separated me and my brother from our family.” He confirmed that he stayed in the Iraqi city of Mosul for three months before being separated from his brother. ISIS then sent him, along with sixty other Yazidi children, to the city of Al-Bukamal in Syria.

Describing his time within the terrorist group, Othman said, “After arriving in Al-Bukamal, ISIS subjected us to a three-year religious course, during which I was given the name ‘Osama Al-Sinjari.’ We were then transferred to the Syrian desert to undergo military training, where we remained for another three years. I was later moved to the Homs desert as a fighter in the ISIS ranks, and I stayed there for another four years. During this period, I was injured by a landmine explosion, which wounded my right leg.”

The young Yazidi man added, “At the end of 2024, while I was getting treatment at one of the ISIS hideouts in the Homs desert, the hideout was struck by an intense airstrike from the international coalition forces, which resulted in the death of 20 terrorists, including high-ranking leaders, and I miraculously survived the bombing.”

In closing, Othman expressed his joy at being freed and conveyed his gratitude to the Syrian Democratic Forces for liberating him and thousands of other Yazidis, particularly women, from the clutches of ISIS.

The fate of thousands of Yazidis, especially women, remains unknown. Many were sold in slave markets established by ISIS in cities such as Raqqa, Mosul, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Bukamal. However, SDF forces have successfully liberated thousands of them, reuniting them to their families in Shengal.