Boy abducted by Daesh rescued after arduous operation

By Sinan Uslu, Burcu Arik

ANKARA

A seven-year-old boy, who was kidnapped by the terrorist group Daesh in 2014 and rescued at the directive of Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, was reunited with his mother on Friday.

The diplomatic initiatives, launched at the urging of Justice and Development (AK) Party Duzce Deputy Ayse Kesir on receiving a letter from the boy’s mother, Mehtap Nur Kazanci, finally bore fruit.

The Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT) located the camp in Iraq where Alparslan was being held along with other abducted children, and an operation was carried out by the central government of Iraq, which ended happily with the rescuing of the child completely unharmed.

After he was rescued from the camp, the young child was placed at the Baghdad Orphanage, where he awaited reunion with his family for another four months.

Alparslan was kidnapped three years ago in the northwestern province of Duzce by his father, who had joined Daesh previously. After being abducted, Alparslan was renamed “Yusuf". The MIT’s investigation also revealed that Alparslan's father died during a terror act in Iraq.