Christian woman kidnapped by ISIS reunited with father after three years

A Christian woman from Qaraqosh, kidnapped by ISIS in 2014, has been reunited with her father who is the only surviving member of her family after three years apart.

Rita Habib's family were killed when the jihadist group took over Qaraqosh, southeast of Mosul in northern Iraq. She was kidnapped and repeatedly sold and bought as a sex slave by militants first in Mosul then in Syria.

The extremists 'kidnapped Christian and Kurdish Ezidi girls and used them for many things, including as sex slaves', she said.

'I was bought and sold four times. They did evil things to us. They beat us and raped us,' she said in an interview with Kurdistan 24.

'The worst of all was girls aged nine who were raped. Girls would be sold for $4,000 to $15,000.'

Rita was rescued five months ago in Syria by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to Kurdistan 24, and reunited with her father in Erbil by a Christian humanitarian group.

She is one of thousands of women from Syria and northern Iraq to have been captured by ISIS and sold as sex slaves, many of whom have been freed as ISIS is pushed back from large swathes of Iraq and Syria. 

News
Churches must do more to equip Christians for evangelism, says J John
Churches must do more to equip Christians for evangelism, says J John

Churches need to devote more time and resources to evangelism and do more to equip their members to share their faith with non-Christians, evangelist Canon J John has said.

Bishop urges churches to embrace growing interest in Christianity
Bishop urges churches to embrace growing interest in Christianity

The Bishop of Blackburn has called on churches across Lancashire to prepare for a renewed interest in Christianity, saying there are encouraging signs of a “rebirth” among young people and families exploring faith.

Young people are finding their way to the Christian faith through media, says bishop
Young people are finding their way to the Christian faith through media, says bishop

Bishop Ruth Bushyager says an exciting shift is happening after years of unfulfilling secularism.

John Lennox urges Christians to overcome fear of sharing their faith
John Lennox urges Christians to overcome fear of sharing their faith

“What we all can do is to share what Christ has done for us,” he said.