UN: Islamic State holds 3,500 slaves in Iraq, mostly Yazidi women and children

NEW YORK, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The United Nations estimates the Islamic State has about 3,500 people held as slaves in Iraq who are mostly women and children from the Yazidi Kurdish religious group.

The Islamic State -- also known as ISIS, Daesh and ISIL -- is accused of various international human rights abuses.

In some cases, actions by the Islamic State may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and "possibly genocide," according to a report released Tuesday by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"ISIL continued to subject women and children to sexual violence, particularly in the form of sexual slavery," the U.N. report states, adding it "continues to believe that the number of people currently being held in slavery by ISIL numbers approximately 3,500. Those being held are predominantly women and children and come primarily from the Yazidi community, but a number are also from other ethnic and religious minority communities."

The report also details the civilian death toll amid the Iraqi conflict. The U.N. estimates at least 18,802 civilians have been killed and 36,245 have been wounded between Jan. 1, 2014, and Oct. 31, 2015, in Iraq. About 3.2 million people have become internally displaced, including more than a million school-age children.

"The violence suffered by civilians in Iraq remains staggering," the UN writes. "During the reporting period, ISIL killed and abducted scores of civilians, often in a targeted manner. Victims include those perceived to be opposed to ISIL ideology and rule; persons affiliated with the government, such as former Iraqi security forces, police officers, former public officials and electoral workers; professionals, such as doctors and lawyers; journalists; and tribal and religious leaders.

"Many have been subjected to adjudication by ISIL self-appointed courts which, in addition to ordering the murder of countless people, have imposed grim punishments such as stoning and amputations," the UN added.