Yazidi girl recalls helicopter escape from ISIS
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Yazidi girl recalls helicopter escape from ISIS

Updated 1111 GMT (1911 HKT) September 29, 2015
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Aziza Hamad, 14, talks to her mother minutes after being rescued from Mount Sinjar in Iraq on August 14, 2014. A year after she and other Yazidi Iraqis were saved from the murderous advance of ISIS, CNN's Ivan Watson tracked Aziza down. Warzer Jaff for CNN
Back in 2014, Aziza and eight members of her family, including her older sister and their father, managed to scramble aboard an Iraqi military helicopter, clinging together for comfort and crying as the crew opened fire on suspected ISIS targets below. Warzer Jaff for CNN
A year on, Aziza, now 15, and most of her family are living in a refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan. Two of her brothers are missing, presumed to have been captured by ISIS. A third brother has made it to Germany, where he is studying and working in a factory. Warzer Jaff for CNN
Aziza's young niece, Helen, was also among those rescued in 2014. Warzer Jaff for CNN
A year on, Helen poses for a photo with her father, Aziza's brother Thabit, in the refugee camp that they now call home. Aziza and Thabit's father's physical and mental health has deteriorated, leaving Thabit to bear much of the responsibility for the family. Warzer Jaff for CNN
Aziza's family poses for a photo in 2014. For several months, they had little choice but to squat amid the bare concrete in an unfinished construction site, using cardboard and plastic sheeting for shelter. Warzer Jaff for CNN
A year on, they are living in a refugee camp in the Kurdish region of Iraq. CNN showed them footage of their harrowing 2014 helicopter escape, which left several members of the family in tears. Warzer Jaff for CNN