Video Shows Hindu & Christian Women Being Rescued From an ISIS Camp? No!

According to the military unit YPJ, the victims belonged to a Kurdish minority group called Yazidi.

Fact-Check | The video is old and is being shared with a misleading context.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A distressing video which shows military personnel rescuing some injured women who are chained in what appears to be a camp is going viral on the internet.

What are users claiming?: Those sharing the video have claimed that the women belonged to Hindu and Christian community and hailed from India and Bangladesh.

• The claim further stated that they were enslaved by the Islamic State (ISIS).

• The video is being shared in the context of the recently released film, The Kerala Story.

An archive of the post can be seen here. 

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

(More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.) We received multiple queries about the video on our WhatsApp tipline.

What is the truth?: The video dates back to September 2022 and shows a women's military unit - YPJ (Yekîneyên Parastina Jin) - rescuing four women from an ISIS camp in Al-Hol, Syria.

• According to YPJ, the victims were Yazidis - a minority group in Kurdistan.

• There is no evidence to support the claim that these women belonged to Hindu or Christian communities.

How did we find out?: We extracted several keyframes from the video using a Google Chrome extension, InVID, and performed a reverse image search on them.

• We came across a report published on a website called ANF News which carried similar visuals as the viral clip.

• It said YPJ uploaded a video which documented the rescue of four women who were chained up inside a tent in the Al-Hol camp.

• The operation was the second phase of the "Humanitarian Security Operation" launched against the terrorist attacks.

• It was coordinated by the units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along with Asayish Command and the YPG.

• It did not mention anything about the religion or the nationality of the victims.

The report was published on 6 September 2022.

(Source: ANF website/Screenshot)

• The report also led us to a longer version of the video uploaded on the YouTube channel of SDF press.

United States Central Command statement: In a statement available on their website dated 18 September 2022, it mentioned that the YPJ forces completed a security operation in Al-Hol camp.

• It said that six women, who were enslaved and tortured by the ISIS, were rescued.

• Some of these women were captured as children. However, it did not contain any details about the victims.

The victims were Yazidis: According to a tweet thread available on the YPJ's Information and Documentation account, the women were Yazidi.

• Team WebQoof did not find any evidence which supported the fact that the victims belonged to either Hindu and Christian community or that they were from India/Bangladesh.

The Quint has reached out to YPJ and SDF for their inputs/comments and the story will be updated as and when it is received.

Conclusion: There is no evidence to prove that the rescued women were from India or Bangladesh.

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