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| Swedish teenager rescued from Isis in Iraq | Swedish teenager rescued from Isis in Iraq |
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| Kurdish troops in Iraq have rescued a Swedish teenager who is believed to have been held by Islamic State militants after her boyfriend tricked her into travelling to the region, Kurdish authorities have said. | Kurdish troops in Iraq have rescued a Swedish teenager who is believed to have been held by Islamic State militants after her boyfriend tricked her into travelling to the region, Kurdish authorities have said. |
| The girl disappeared from a foster home in Boras, east of Gothenburg, in May last year with her 19-year-old boyfriend, who was reported to be an Isis supporter. She was 15 at the time and pregnant. She reportedly gave birth to a son in November. | The girl disappeared from a foster home in Boras, east of Gothenburg, in May last year with her 19-year-old boyfriend, who was reported to be an Isis supporter. She was 15 at the time and pregnant. She reportedly gave birth to a son in November. |
| A statement by the Kurdish regional government said its forces had rescued the girl, now 16, last week near Mosul, in northern Iraq, and that she was safe and set to return home. It did not say whether her infant son had been rescued with her. | A statement by the Kurdish regional government said its forces had rescued the girl, now 16, last week near Mosul, in northern Iraq, and that she was safe and set to return home. It did not say whether her infant son had been rescued with her. |
| A spokeswoman for Sweden’s foreign ministry said she had no information about the case. | A spokeswoman for Sweden’s foreign ministry said she had no information about the case. |
| The Kurdish statement, which named the teenager, said she had been “misled” by the boyfriend to travel to Sweden and then Mosul. It said the regional government had worked closely with Swedish authorities and the girl’s family to locate her. | The Kurdish statement, which named the teenager, said she had been “misled” by the boyfriend to travel to Sweden and then Mosul. It said the regional government had worked closely with Swedish authorities and the girl’s family to locate her. |
| It said she was now in Iraqi Kurdish territory, was being “provided the care afforded to her under international law”, and would be sent home as soon as possible. | It said she was now in Iraqi Kurdish territory, was being “provided the care afforded to her under international law”, and would be sent home as soon as possible. |
| The AFP news agency quoted a senior Kurdish security official as saying the rescue took place “without clashes or the arrest of any gunmen”. The unnamed official added: “Swedish authorities were in continuous contact with the girl and organised the operation to rescue her in cooperation with regional authorities.” | The AFP news agency quoted a senior Kurdish security official as saying the rescue took place “without clashes or the arrest of any gunmen”. The unnamed official added: “Swedish authorities were in continuous contact with the girl and organised the operation to rescue her in cooperation with regional authorities.” |
| Swedish Radio said the teenager and her boyfriend were apparently captured by Isis in Syria in August. Swedish reports in October said the girl, then eight months pregnant, had been freed in Mosul and would be handed over to her family for a payment of about 300,000 Swedish kroner (£25,000). | Swedish Radio said the teenager and her boyfriend were apparently captured by Isis in Syria in August. Swedish reports in October said the girl, then eight months pregnant, had been freed in Mosul and would be handed over to her family for a payment of about 300,000 Swedish kroner (£25,000). |
| According to earlier reports, the teenager and her boyfriend travelled to Syria through Turkey and were recruited by a group linked to al-Qaida, before being captured by Isis in the Syrian city of Aleppo. | According to earlier reports, the teenager and her boyfriend travelled to Syria through Turkey and were recruited by a group linked to al-Qaida, before being captured by Isis in the Syrian city of Aleppo. |
| The boyfriend was reportedly forced to fight for the group. The girl talked to her family in Sweden via a mobile phone and said she was being held in Aleppo with a group of other women. She reportedly told her family that Isis had forcibly separated her from her boyfriend, and she was scared and wanted to return home. It remains unclear how she ended up in Mosul, around 400 miles from Aleppo. | The boyfriend was reportedly forced to fight for the group. The girl talked to her family in Sweden via a mobile phone and said she was being held in Aleppo with a group of other women. She reportedly told her family that Isis had forcibly separated her from her boyfriend, and she was scared and wanted to return home. It remains unclear how she ended up in Mosul, around 400 miles from Aleppo. |
| Several hundred Swedish nationals are reported to have travelled to fight with Isis. According to one police official, almost half of these have come from Gothenburg. Speaking in November, Ulf Boström said this made the city the biggest single European contributor to the group as a proportion of its population. | Several hundred Swedish nationals are reported to have travelled to fight with Isis. According to one police official, almost half of these have come from Gothenburg. Speaking in November, Ulf Boström said this made the city the biggest single European contributor to the group as a proportion of its population. |
| Mosul was the first major Iraqi city to fall into the hands of Isis during a blitz in June 2014, when the group swept across vast areas in the country’s north and west. | Mosul was the first major Iraqi city to fall into the hands of Isis during a blitz in June 2014, when the group swept across vast areas in the country’s north and west. |
| The city remains under the group’s control while Iraqi forces, aided by airstrikes carried out by the US-led international coalition, are battling to reclaim ground. Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces are fighting Isis militants to the north and east of the city. | The city remains under the group’s control while Iraqi forces, aided by airstrikes carried out by the US-led international coalition, are battling to reclaim ground. Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces are fighting Isis militants to the north and east of the city. |