A UN&nbsp;team investigating Islamic State crimes in Iraq has found "clear and convincing evidence that the crimes against the Yazidi people clearly constituted genocide," the head of the inquiry said on Monday. 
 
Karim Khan told the UN&nbsp;Security Council that the team, which started work in 2018, had also identified perpetrators "that clearly have responsibility for the crime of genocide against the Yazidi community." 
 
The Yazidis are a religious sect whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions. Islamic State militants consider the Yazidis to be devil-worshippers. 
 
Khan, a British lawyer who will next month become the International Criminal Court prosecutor, said the intent of Islamic State "to destroy the Yazidi, physically and biologically, was manifest in the ultimatum that was repeated in so many different villages in Iraq - to convert or die." 
 
Islamic State overran the Yazidi heartland in northern Iraq in 2014, forcing young women into servitude as "wives" for fighters, massacring thousands of people and displacing most of the 550,000-strong community. In 2016 an independent UN&nbsp;commission of inquiry described it as genocide. 
 
Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi woman who was enslaved and raped by Islamic State, and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney lobbied the Security Council, which then created the UN&nbsp;investigative team in 2017. 
 
They also pushed for the council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court or create a special court. 
 
"Evidence has been found, but we are still searching for the political will to prosecute," Murad, who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, told the Security Council on Monday. 
 
The UN&nbsp;team has so far identified 1,444 possible perpetrators of attacks against the Yazidis. 
 
Khan also said that from the team`s investigation into the mass killing of unarmed cadets and military personnel at Tikrit Air Academy in June 2014 "it is clear that the crime of direct and public incitement to commit genocide occurred." 
 
The team has identified 20 people of interest and 875 victims remains from 11 mass graves from the Tikrit attack by the Sunni extremists against Shia Muslims.

A UN team investigating Islamic State crimes in Iraq has found "clear and convincing evidence that the crimes against the Yazidi people clearly constituted genocide," the head of the inquiry said on Monday.

A UN team investigating Islamic State crimes in Iraq has found "clear and convincing evidence that the crimes against the Yazidi people clearly constituted genocide," the head of the inquiry said on Monday. Karim Khan told the UN Security Council that the team, which started work in 2018, had also identified perpetrators "that clearly have responsibility for the crime of genocide against the Yazidi community." The Yazidis are a religious sect whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions. Islamic State militants consider the Yazidis to be devil-worshippers. Khan, a British lawyer who will next month become the International Criminal Court prosecutor, said the intent of Islamic State "to destroy the Yazidi, physically and biologically, was manifest in the ultimatum that was repeated in so many different villages in Iraq - to convert or die." Islamic State overran the Yazidi heartland in northern Iraq in 2014, forcing young women into servitude as "wives" for fighters, massacring thousands of people and displacing most of the 550,000-strong community. In 2016 an independent UN commission of inquiry described it as genocide. Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi woman who was enslaved and raped by Islamic State, and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney lobbied the Security Council, which then created the UN investigative team in 2017. They also pushed for the council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court or create a special court. "Evidence has been found, but we are still searching for the political will to prosecute," Murad, who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, told the Security Council on Monday. The UN team has so far identified 1,444 possible perpetrators of attacks against the Yazidis. Khan also said that from the team`s investigation into the mass killing of unarmed cadets and military personnel at Tikrit Air Academy in June 2014 "it is clear that the crime of direct and public incitement to commit genocide occurred." The team has identified 20 people of interest and 875 victims remains from 11 mass graves from the Tikrit attack by the Sunni extremists against Shia Muslims.

UN investigator says he has evidence of genocide against Iraq's Yazidis

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared unfamiliar with the work and cause of Nobel laureate Nadia Murad as she pleaded with him to help the Yazidis of Iraq.

Murad, one of the thousands of women and girls from the ancient faith abducted by ISIS as they overran swathes of Iraq in 2014, joined a group of survivors of religious persecution who met Trump in the Oval Office on the sidelines of a major meeting at the State Department.

After Murad explained how her mother and six brothers were killed and that 3,000 Yazidis remained missing, Trump said, "And you had the Nobel Prize? That's incredible. They gave it to you for what reason?"

Watch: Nobel Prize winner Nadia Murad makes an emotional appeal to President Trump

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With little pause, Murad, who was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, repeated her story.

"After all this happened to me, I didn't give up. I make it clear to everyone that ISIS raped thousands of Yazidi women," she said.

"Please do something. It's not about one family," she said.

Trump, who has boasted of crushing the self-styled caliphate of ISIS that once stretched across Iraq and Syria, also appeared at a loss when Murad asked him to press the Iraqi and Kurdish governments to create safe conditions for the Yazidis to return.

"But ISIS is gone and now it's Kurdish and who?" Trump asked, before later telling her, "I know the area very well."

Murad also explained how Yazidis took dangerous routes to find safety in Germany, whose welcome to refugees has been vocally criticized by Trump.

The US leader also appeared unfamiliar when he met a representative from the Rohingya, a Muslim minority targeted in a brutal campaign two years ago in Myanmar.

One day earlier, his administration banned travel to the United States by Myanmar's army chief and three other senior officers, calling the violence "ethnic cleansing."

The Trump administration frequently speaks of promoting religious freedom, a key issue for much of his evangelical Christian base.

Government ministers and representatives of persecuted groups are spending three days at the State Department for a meeting on religious freedom, which Vice President Mike Pence will address on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared unfamiliar with the work and cause of Nobel laureate Nadia Murad as she pleaded with him to help the Yazidis of Iraq.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared unfamiliar with the work and cause of Nobel laureate Nadia Murad as she pleaded with him to help the Yazidis of Iraq. Murad, one of the thousands of women and girls from the ancient faith abducted by ISIS as they overran swathes of Iraq in 2014, joined a group of survivors of religious persecution who met Trump in the Oval Office on the sidelines of a major meeting at the State Department. After Murad explained how her mother and six brothers were killed and that 3,000 Yazidis remained missing, Trump said, "And you had the Nobel Prize? That's incredible. They gave it to you for what reason?" Watch: Nobel Prize winner Nadia Murad makes an emotional appeal to President Trump With little pause, Murad, who was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, repeated her story. "After all this happened to me, I didn't give up. I make it clear to everyone that ISIS raped thousands of Yazidi women," she said. "Please do something. It's not about one family," she said. Trump, who has boasted of crushing the self-styled caliphate of ISIS that once stretched across Iraq and Syria, also appeared at a loss when Murad asked him to press the Iraqi and Kurdish governments to create safe conditions for the Yazidis to return. "But ISIS is gone and now it's Kurdish and who?" Trump asked, before later telling her, "I know the area very well." Murad also explained how Yazidis took dangerous routes to find safety in Germany, whose welcome to refugees has been vocally criticized by Trump. The US leader also appeared unfamiliar when he met a representative from the Rohingya, a Muslim minority targeted in a brutal campaign two years ago in Myanmar. One day earlier, his administration banned travel to the United States by Myanmar's army chief and three other senior officers, calling the violence "ethnic cleansing." The Trump administration frequently speaks of promoting religious freedom, a key issue for much of his evangelical Christian base. Government ministers and representatives of persecuted groups are spending three days at the State Department for a meeting on religious freedom, which Vice President Mike Pence will address on Thursday.

'They gave you Nobel Peace Prize for what'? Trump asks Yazidi activist Nadia Murad

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UN investigator says he has evidence of genocide against Iraq's Yazidis

'They gave you Nobel Peace Prize for what'? Trump asks Yazidi activist Nadia Murad