Boy abducted by ISIS reunited with his family in Winnipeg after eight years
Eight years after Ayad Alhussein was abducted by the terror group ISIS, he has been reunited with his family in Winnipeg.
On Thursday at the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, Amal and Leila Alhussein hugged their little brother Ayad for the first time in eight years.
"We're just so excited to welcome him to our new home here in Winnipeg," Amal said.
They were last together at their home in Iraq when in 2014, ISIS arrived in the Yazidi family's community. Amid the carnage, the family of 20 was reduced to just four. Ayad, who was only six years old at the time, was abducted by the terror group.
"He spent almost five years in captivity where torture and violence was a daily occurrence," said Jamileh Naso, president of the Canadian Yazidi Association. "By some miracle he managed to escape ISIS captivity."
Ayad made it to a displaced person's refugee camp in Iraq where he would spend almost another three years waiting.
His parents and most of his family were gone. But in that time, his two sisters Amal and Leila had made their way to Winnipeg.
"(They were) sponsored (to come) here under the 2017 Yazidi refugee program that the government initiated," Naso said.
Following work by a multi-faith coalition and the Canadian Yazidi Association, this family is now reunited.
After embracing his family for the first time in eight years, Ayad said, "It still feels like a dream and doesn't really feel real yet."
Now that Ayad is in Winnipeg, he said he is excited to be with his sisters and is looking forward to starting school.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Here's what Trudeau says the upcoming federal budget will offer renters
The federal government will create a new 'Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights,' which would require landlords to disclose their properties' rental price history to prospective tenants.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.