Yazidi schoolgirl kept as a sex slave by Isis for six months tells of 'dying a 100 deaths'

A 16-year-old Iraqi girl who now lives in Germany has recalled the ordeal she went through after the Isis terror group kidnapped her and kept her as a sex slave in Iraq for six months.

Ekhlas is from the Yazidi community, a Kurdish ethno-religious minority that Isis harshly persecuted as it seized large swathes of Iraq in 2014.

When the terrorists raided her village, Ekhlas – aged 14 at the time – and her family tried to escape to Mount Sinjar, where thousands of Yazidis had sought refuge, but they were not fast enough.

"They came with their black flag. They killed our men and raped our girls," she told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

The insurgents killed her father before her eyes, then abducted her and locked her up in a prison.

"AlI I heard was screaming and crying, everyone was starving," Ekhlas explained.

"They would hit me and I would want to cry, but my smile was my weapon. I saw a man who was over 40 take a 10-year-old girl. The girl was screaming. I'll never forget those screams, screaming for mum, 'mama, mama' but we could do nothing."

Referring to the man who abused her as she was held captive, Ekhlas said: "Every day for six months he raped me. I tried to kill myself.

"He was so ugly, like a beast, with his long hair. He smelt so bad, I was so frightened, I couldn't look at him," she continued.

After six months of captivity, one day Ekhlas managed to escape as her abductor was out fighting.

She was taken to a refugee camp and later transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Germany, where she is receiving counselling and education. She hopes she can become a lawyer.

"You probably think I am as strong as a rock but I want you to know I am wounded inside," Ekhlas said. "I have my pain and it's like a 100 deaths."

Isis used to control larges swathes of Iraq and Syria, but the group has progressively lost several controlled areas due to joint offensives launched in both countries.

Earlier this month, the Iraqi army declared the city of Mosul liberated from Isis after months of fierce fighting against the militants. Isis had captured Mosul in 2014.

Thousands of Yazidi still remain in Isis captivity.