A Yazidi woman freed from Gaza after a decade of captivity claims ISIS ‘fed them the meat of babies’. The 21-year-old woman — identified as Fawzia Sido — was kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Iraq ten years ago. She was freed earlier this month in a secret operation months in the making that involved Israel, the United States and Iraq.
“They told us that they would give us food. They made rice and they gave us meat to eat with it. The meat had a weird taste, and some of us had stomach aches afterwards. When we were done, they told us that this was the meat of Yazidi babies,” a Jerusalem Post report quoted her as saying.
Sido told the publication that one of the captive women had suffered a heart failure and died soon after gleaning this information. She claimed that the mothers of these babies were also been present among the prisoners and one had recognised her child “because of its hands”.
“They forced us. But it’s very hard to know that it happened. But it was not in our hands,” she added.
Similar allegations of ISIS consuming babies have also been levelled in the past — including claims made by Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi member of the Iraqi parliament in 2017.
Sido was freed after more than four months of efforts that involved several failed attempts amid the complicated security situation resulting from Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Iraqi officials have said she was resting after having been reunited with her family in northern Iraq.
According to reports, Iraqi officials had been in contact with the woman for months and passed on her information to US officials, who arranged for her exit from Gaza with the help of Israel, according to a source familiar with the matter.