Rights group urges Iraqi authorities to trace women abducted by Daesh/ISIS

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AA) – A rights commission on Thursday urged Iraqi authorities to disclose the fate of thousands of Iraqi women abducted by the terrorist Daesh/ISIS group.

“The fate of thousands of Yazidi, Turkmen and Shabak [Iraqi minorities] women who were abducted by the Daesh/ISIS group between 2014 and 2017 is still unknown,” said a statement by Iraq's Independent High Commission for Human Rights.

The commission called on the Iraqi government to "intensify its diplomatic and security efforts" in this regard.

It also urged the government to launch rehabilitation programs for the women who survived the terror group.

The US has led an international coalition since 2014 to fight the Daesh/ISIS terror group, which captured almost one-third of Iraq's territory in 2014. The terrorist organization, however, was defeated by the Iraqi army, with the help of the US-led coalition, in 2017.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara