Erbil, Kurdistan Region – A Yazidi man abducted by the Islamic State (ISIS) over a decade ago was reunited with his family on Sunday, thanks to efforts by the Kurdistan Region Presidency.

Rawand N.H. was among thousands of Yazidis taken by ISIS during the militant group’s brutal 2014 attack on Shingal (Sinjar) in northern Iraq. After spending 11 years in captivity, primarily in Syria’s Raqqa and surrounding areas, he was freed nearly two weeks ago and brought back to his family in Duhok province.

"I have never felt this much joy in my life," Rawand told Rudaw upon his emotional reunion. Having been held since childhood, he can no longer speak Kurdish and communicated in Arabic.

His uncle, Haji Hame, expressed gratitude to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani for facilitating Rawand’s return. "We had registered all eight members of the family as martyrs. Thankfully, this one emerged alive," Hame said after welcoming his nephew in Batifa, Duhok.

The family was notified a month ago by the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, linked to the Kurdistan Region Presidency, that Rawand had been found. "He will live with me because he has no one else left alive," Hame added.

The ISIS onslaught on Shingal in 2014 saw 6,417 Yazidi women and children kidnapped, many subjected to slavery and torture. While ISIS lost its territorial hold in Iraq by 2017 and in Syria by 2019, its legacy persists—nearly 2,600 Yazidis remain missing, according to the rescue office.

Hame revealed that 77 members of Rawand’s extended family were abducted in 2014, with 39 still unaccounted for. The reunion brings rare hope amid ongoing efforts to locate thousands of Yazidis whose fates remain unknown.