Aliyah Khalaf Saleh

Aliyah Khalaf Saleh (Arabic:عالية خلف صالح; born c. 1956), also known as Umm Qusay, is an Iraqi humanitarian who helped over 50 individuals escape persecution by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in 2014.

In the early days of ISIL's occupation of northern Iraq, Saleh's husband and son were killed at a checkpoint while travelling to Mosul.

Over a five-month period, she smuggled many to safety in the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk, often hiding them in trucks surrounded by her female relatives.

After Saleh's cover was blown, she and 25 members of her family fled, only returning to Tikrit after ISIL's defeat.

[6][7] In 2019, a statue of her likeness was unveiled by the Iraqi Culture Minister, Abdul Amir al-Hamdani, in Baghdad.

Aliyah Khalaf Saleh receives International Women of Courage Award in 2018