Over 20 Yazidi ISIS victims identified through DNA testing
On Tuesday, Iraq's Ministry of Health identified 22 Yazidi victims killed by ISIS in Nineveh, nearly a decade after the group's massacre in the Sinjar region.
The atrocities date back to 2014, when ISIS overran Sinjar and the surrounding Yazidi-populated areas. Thousands of men were executed, while more than 5,000 women and children were abducted—many subjected to enslavement and abuse. Though some have been rescued, thousands remain unaccounted for.
Remains were matched to relatives using DNA analysis, which involved extracting genetic material from the victims' bones and comparing it with blood samples submitted by family members.
A full list of the identified individuals has been made public, and authorities urged families of the missing to continue providing reference samples to aid further identifications.
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