Gunmen kidnap state-owned oil company employee in Kirkuk

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Unidentified gunmen on Sunday kidnapped an employee of the state-owned North Oil Company (NOC) in Kirkuk according to a local security source.

The gunmen, driving a car with no license plate, kidnapped a young employee of NOC in Asra/Mafqudeen neighborhood, south of Kirkuk, the source, who asked to remain anonymous, told Kurdistan 24.

Following the attack and takeover of Kirkuk by Iraqi Forces and Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias on Oct. 16, the security situation in the province has raised concerns.

A few days ago, four employees of the same company were reported kidnapped, but local authorities claimed they had not been informed of any such cases.

Kirkuk is an oil-rich province located in the south of the Kurdistan Region and north of Iraq. It is a multi-ethnic province with a diverse religious background made up of Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs, and Christians. Kurds account for the majority of the population.

The province has been under the protection of the Kurdish Peshmerga Forces since the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in the area in the mid-2014 and the collapse of the Iraqi Army which failed to defend the province.

Since the Oct. 16 attack, over 170,000 people in Kirkuk have been displaced to Erbil and Sulaimani out of fear for their safety and abuses by the Iraqi Forces and the Shia militias.

Editing by Nadia Riva