salih's oldest brother, nadhim, was killed during the first battle of al-faw in 1986. she lost a brother to an al-qaeda bomb in 2007. in 2011, her sister khawlah, who was working for the iraqi government, was shot by militants. when the militant group isis occupied mosul, salih and her family first evacuated to kirkuk. she lived in baghdad for a period, before moving to erbil. there she joined the office of the provincial governor of nineveh.