Islamist militants have freed about 250 Yazidis who were held captive for more than six months in Iraq. Most of those released constitued children and the elderly.
The freed Yazidis are now under the care of Kurdish authorities.
The Yazidies are one of the oldest religious communities in the world, and they have long suffered persecution having been referred to as devil worshippers. ISIS forced hundreds of thousands of minorities from their homes last year, so this is at least a bit of a good sign.
The U.S. State Department estimates that 500,000 Yazidis live in northern Iraq, accounting for less than 1% of the country’s population. They are one of Iraq’s smallest minorities.
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