- Title: Rescued Yazidi boy hopes to join his family in Canada
- Date: 25th July 2017
- Summary: NEAR DUHOK, IRAQ (JULY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) YAZIDI BOY RESCUED FROM ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS, IMAD TAMMO, HOLDING UP A PHONE SHOWING A PICTURE OF HIMSELF WHEN HE WAS RESCUED VARIOUS OF IMAD LOOKING AT A PICTURE OF HIS MOTHER VARIOUS OF IMAD WALKING WITH HIS UNCLE VARIOUS OF BOY'S UNCLE, BARZAN TAMMO, LOOKING AT IMAD'S X-RAYS BARZAN TAMMO LOOKING AT IMAD'S INJURIES IMAD PLAYING WITH A BOARD GAME IMAD DRAWING ON A PAD OF PAPER (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) IMAD'S UNCLE, BARZAN TAMMO, SAYING: "We had no news about Imad for a very long time. One day we heard that he was in Syria, we were trying constantly to rescue him in any way. Every day we would contact smugglers and ask if there was anyway to get Imad out of Syria. We even offered to pay money. But we made no progress." IMAD DRAWING (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) IMAD'S UNCLE, BARZAN TAMMO, SAYING: "A group of Yazidis in Mosul contacted me and told me 'Your nephew is with the Iraqi army and he is in a hospital in Mosul, come and see him'." IMAD DRAWING (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) IMAD'S UNCLE, BARZAN TAMMO, SAYING: "After that, his mother called me from Canada, she asked me if it is true that her son is alive, and that he did not die. I told her 'I am standing next to him, you can talk to him'. She spoke to him, and burst into tears. I told her 'Don't cry, he is free from Daesh (a commonly used Arabic acronym for Islamic State) and he is fine'. I told her he will soon be with her again." VARIOUS OF IMAD AND HIS UNCLE PLAYING A BOARD GAME VARIOUS OF IMAD LOOKING AT PICTURES OF HIS MOTHER ON A PHONE
- Embargoed: 8th August 2017 18:42
- Keywords: Yazidi boy Imad Tommo Duhook Barzan Tammo Islamic State rescued Yazidi boy
- Location: NEAR DUHOOK, IRAQ
- City: NEAR DUHOOK, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA0016R7VIVB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Yazidi boy rescued from the battlefield in Mosul after three years in Islamic State captivity asked on Tuesday (July 25) to be reunited with his mother, who was granted asylum in Canada after escaping from the militants herself.
Twelve-year-old Imad Tammo was captured by Islamic State along with his family in the summer of 2014 when the militants overran the Sinjar area in northern Iraq, purging its Yazidi population.
Thousands of Yazidi women were enslaved by the militants, who killed hundreds of adult men and took boys, including Imad, away for military and ideological training.
As the battle for Mosul drew to an end after nine months of gruelling urban combat, Imad's uncle received a call saying that his nephew had been found alive by Iraqi forces. His mother learned from photographs circulated on social media that her son had been rescued, prompting her to contact the boy's uncle to renew contact with him. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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