The Iraqi Ministry of Health announced that DNA tests on 22 Yazidi bodies recovered in Shingal (Sinjar), including women and children, have been completed and the bodies will be returned to their families on the 13th of this month.

According to a ministry statement, the identification of the bodies followed thorough comparisons of information and DNA tests.

The remains will be transported from Mosul International Airport to Shingal on August 12 and handed over to relatives the following day.

A relative of two of the deceased told Channel8 that the bodies of their brothers are among those being returned and confirmed they had previously recovered the remains of two other brothers.

Hussein Qaidi, Head of the Kidnapped Yazidis Rescue Office, told Channel8 that more than 6,000 Yazidis were kidnapped during the 2014 ISIS attack on Shingal and surrounding areas, with 3,590 rescued and 2,554 still missing.

Kurdish leaders and officials in the Kurdistan Region marked the eleventh anniversary of the genocide on August 3 by paying tribute to the victims and reaffirming their support for the Yazidi community. They called for justice and compensation for the victims’ families and urged the Iraqi government to fulfill its responsibilities in assisting displaced persons and locating those still missing.