Overview

As the “Islamic State” swept through Iraq in 2014, they targeted villages around Mount Sinjar, home to the Yazidi religious minority. Encircling the mountain, they killed thousands of Yazidi men and abducted an estimated 5,000 women and children to be sold at slave markets. With no help forthcoming, a Yazidi smuggler named Abu Shuja used his skills and network to steal back the people languishing in ISIS captivity. His success of rescuing over 500 people lead to ISIS placing a $500,000 bounty on his head, eventually pitting him and his family against the need to flee their country.