Emir of Ezidis dies at 86

By Ali Mohamed

ERBIL, Iraq

Mir Tahsin Said, the leader of the Ezidi people, passed away Monday at the age of 86.

The Ezidi emir died at a hospital in German, according to a statement by Khairi Buzani, head of the Ezidi affairs in the Kurdish Regional Government's Ministry of Endowments in northern Iraq.

Mir Tahsin was born in 1933 in northern Mosul. He has been appointed Emir of the Ezidis since 1944.

The Ezidi people are a religious group, most of whom live in northern Iraq, while smaller groups live in Turkey, Syria, Iran, Georgia and Armenia.