Dozens of people gathered at the airport to welcome twelve-year-old Imad Tammo, who was captured by IS in the summer of 2014 when the militants overran the Sinjar area in northern Iraq, purging its Yazidi population.
His mother, Nofa Zaghla, who had been granted asylum in Canada after escaping from the militants herself, cried as she prepared to see her son.
Thousands of Yazidi women were enslaved by the IS group, who killed hundreds of adult men and took boys, including Imad, away for military and ideological training.
As the battle for Mosul drew to an end, Imad's uncle received a call saying that his nephew had been found alive by Iraqi forces.
His mother learned from photographs circulated on social media that her son had been rescued, prompting her to contact the boy's uncle to renew contact with him.
Emad Tammo (left) with his cousin in Dohuk, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Source: UNHCR/Andrea DiCenzo
