Iraq says embassy in Ankara helped reunite boy abducted by ISIS with family

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Embassy in Ankara said Monday it has facilitated the return of a 12-year-old Iraqi boy abducted by ISIS in 2014, reuniting him with his family after more than two years of coordination with Turkish authorities.

In a statement, the embassy said, “The continuous efforts made by the Iraqi Embassy in Ankara have culminated in success after more than two years of close monitoring and coordination with the relevant Turkish authorities.”

The embassy said the child, Ali Ghazi Mohammed Jameel, was kidnapped in 2014 after ISIS militants killed his parents. It described him as “one of the victims of the heinous crimes committed by those gangs against Iraqi families.” Officials said he was located in Turkey in 2022 and placed in a child care center in Ankara.

After receiving information about the case, the embassy said it began legal and security coordination with Turkish authorities to confirm the child’s identity and arrange his return. “A DNA test confirmed his relation to his uncle, Faisal Mohammed Jameel,” the statement said, adding that judicial and logistical procedures were completed before official approval for his release was granted.

The embassy said it booked travel tickets for the child and his relatives and presented him with a gift “as a gesture of humanitarian support and care.”

ISIS seized large areas of Iraq and Syria after its 2014 offensive and carried out systematic violence against civilians, including mass killings, executions, rape, enslavement and forced displacement. Iraq declared victory over ISIS in December 2017, though remnants of the group remain active in parts of the region.