Erbil police arrest two locals who kidnapped tourists from Baghdad

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Erbil police forces on Saturday announced the arrest of two locals who briefly kidnapped four tourists from Baghdad and stole their car during the Eid al-Adha holidays.

“Four Arab citizens from the city of Baghdad wanted to return from Erbil to their place of residence. They were traveling in a BMW when two people intercepted them,” the city’s police chief, Abdulkhaliq Talaat, told reporters.

He added that the two people showed the four citizens false identification and claimed to be members of the security forces (Asayish) before proceeding to kidnap them. One of them then took the BMW and hid it.

The second suspect loaded the four tourists into a car of his own, which the police chief said was a taxi, and drove them around the city. The suspect then dropped off two of the kidnapped persons at one location and the other two at another.

“In less than 24 hours, however, the suspects were arrested, and the stolen vehicle was seized” by the police forces, Talaat said, adding that the car was then returned to the victims.

Authorities in the Kurdistan Region took strict security measures during the Eid al-Adha holidays, during which many tourists flock to the region to picnic in its scenic resorts.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany