BEIRUT — A 21-year-old woman kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Iraq more than a decade ago was freed from Gaza this week in an operation involving the US and Israel, officials said.

The rescue also involved Jordan and Iraq, according to officials.

The woman is a member of the ancient Yazidi religious minority mostly found in Iraq and Syria which saw more than 5,000 members killed and thousands more kidnapped in an Islamic State campaign in 2014 that the UN has said constituted genocide.

She was freed after more than four months of efforts that involved several attempts that failed due to the difficult security situation resulting from Israel's military offensive in Gaza, Mr Silwan Sinjaree, chief of staff of Iraq's foreign minister, told Reuters.

She has been identified as Fawzia Sido. Reuters could not reach the woman directly for comment, with Iraqi officials saying she was resting after having been reunited with her family in northern Iraq.

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