IS Holding About 3,500 Slaves in Iraq

By RFE/RL

January 20, 2016

The extremist group Islamic State (IS) has enslaved an estimated 3,500 people, including women and children, in Iraq, a United Nations report said.

The reported issued on January 19 said that the extremist group is responsible for actions that may "amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.” 

“IS continued to subject women and children to sexual violence, particularly in the form of sexual slavery,” the report by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights states. 

The report said that Iraqi security forces and allied groups including Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have also killed and kidnapped civilians.

"Some of these incidents may have been reprisals against persons perceived to support or be associated with [Islamic State]," it added. 

The report said at least 18,802 civilians were killed in violence in Iraq from January 2014 to October 2015 and 36,245 civilians were wounded. 

The UN said the report is based on testimony obtained directly from the victims, survivors, or witnesses of human rights violations.

With reporting by Reuters