Yazidis

A 21-year-old Yazidi woman, who was kidnapped by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq more than a decade ago, has been freed from Gaza in a coordinated operation involving the United States, Iraq, Israel, and Jordan. The woman, named Fauzia Sido, is from the Yazidi religious minority, which has faced brutal attacks from ISIS.

Forced to abandon their hometown 40 years ago due to PKK attacks, five families have returned to their village in the southeastern province of Şırnak after it was cleared of terrorism within the scope of the Interior Ministry's "Return to Village and Rehabilitation Project."

Some 100 Yezidi families, who plan to repatriate to the southeastern province of Mardin from Europe after four decades, have found themselves in a "road battle" with Assyrians living in the nearby village.

Ljubljana – Matej Kavčič, a reporter for the small independent radio station Radio Student, was arrested in Iraq on Sunday, most likely in Baghdad, the newspaper Večer reports on its website. According to the available information, he was arrested by the army, which disputes his status of reporter.

Turkey will continue anti-terror operations with getting them "intensified," the nation's defense minister said on April 3.

"Until when? Until the last terrorist is neutralized. Thus, we will save our noble nation from the terror scourge that has been going on for many years and we will ensure security," Hulusi Akar said.

The Ezidi community, which escaped from Iraq's Sinjar district and took refuge in Duhok province after ISIL took control of the region, is unable to return to their homes because of oppression by the PKK and the terror group's extensions in the region, Turkey's consul general in Erbil said on April 1. 

With the latest rescue operation in the Turkish capital, the number of the Ezidis rescued from terror groups has increased to three within the last 18-month period.

According to the information obtained by Anadolu Agency, Turkish intelligence and police units conduct operations both within the country and abroad to rescue those in need.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi paid a one-day official visit to Ankara on Dec.17 to discuss with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan economy and security matters, including combatting the PKK and ISIL, the re-construction of Iraq, trade and energy.

Turkey has said it will lend necessary support to Iraq in its efforts to clear the country from the PKK ahead of a key visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to Ankara where improving cooperation in the fields of economy and security will be the main course of talks.

The Iraqi husband of a German woman who is being tried on charges that the couple allowed a 5-year-old Yazidi girl they kept as a slave to die of thirst in the hot sun has been extradited from Greece to Germany.