A Swedish teenager who was rescued from the clutches of the Islamic State by Kurdish militias in Iraq has spoken out to local media about her time among the jihadists.
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“First it was good together but then he started to look at Isis videos and speak about them and stuff like that”, she said in English, using the acronym of the previous name for IS. “I don’t know anything about Islam or ISIL or some things and I do not know what he meant”. “So when I had a phone I started to contact my mum and said “I want to go home”.
Dozens of militant fighters from the Islamic State (ISIS) radical group have surrendered to the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq, an official said on Wednesday.
The two departed Sweden in May 2015, making the trek across Europe by bus and train, until they reached the Turkish border province of Gaziantep, Reuters reported.
The girl recounts how she stopped going to school at the age of 14 and met her boyfriend that year.
“In the house, we didn’t have anything, no electricity, no water, nothing”, she told K24.
“I didn’t have any money either – it was a really hard life”.
Kurdish soldiers rescued Miss Nivarlian from just outside Mosul on a raid on February 17.
“In Sweden we have everything and when I was there [in Mosul] we didn’t have anything”.
Nor does the Kurdish report detail what happened to Nivarlain’s newborn child.
Marlin Stivani Nivarlain, 15, was rescued from the northern Iraqi city earlier this month by counter-terrorism forces of the Kurdish region of Iraq, after what Kurdish leaders said was an appeal from Swedish authorities.
The couple left Sweden last May, took a bus through Europe and eventually crossed through Syria, she said.
Her boyfriend later chose to travel to Syria and join IS; Marilyn agreed to accompany him as she had no idea about their destination where people are harshly oppressed by the extremist group and women are being traded for very small prices. It was totally different. Another Swedish teen who was taken into custody in Vienna faced charges for her involvement with the group.
It said the teen was in Iraqi Kurdish territory Tuesday and was being “provided the care afforded to her under global law”, adding that she will be “transferred to Swedish authorities to return home once necessary arrangements” are made.
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She also thanked the Kurdish Special Forces for their effort and success in taking her home to safety at the end of the interview.
