11 Kurds abducted by Shia militias freed
“There is no guarantee Kurds will be safe in Baghdad; they receive death threats and are under constant attacks. Many are forced to leave their homes.”
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – Hashd al-Shaabi militiamen abducted 11 Kurds traveling through Kirkuk-Baghdad highway on Friday. The Iraqi president office announced that the Kurds kidnapped by militiamen were all released on Saturday night.
A statement issued by the Iraqi presidential website on Friday confirmed that three presidential guards, including a captain, were kidnapped near Amerli, in Diyala Province.
“Security forces were informed to investigate the incident, and the President himself is asking for an immediate disclosure of their fate,” the statement added.
The father of a kidnapped officer, Captain Nariman, told K24, “My son and his colleagues were abducted on their return from Baghdad to Kirkuk.”
“We call upon the Iraqi president and the Kurdistan Region President to make every effort to free our children,” he added.
According to a K24 reporter in Kirkuk, four Kurdish truck drivers from the district of Dabandikhan in Sulaimani Province were abducted by Shia militias near Sleman Beg.
Additionally, a security source revealed to K24 that four Kurdish soldiers from the Command of Border Guards, Shimal, Swara, Karim, and Gailan, were kidnapped en route from Erbil to Baghdad on Friday morning.
The brother of a Kurdish captive confirmed to K24 that his brother was missing, and the family knows nothing about him but accuses the Hashd al-Shaabi militias of kidnapping him.
Iraqi President Media Advisor Khalid Shwani said on Saturday, “The 11 Kurds who were abducted on Friday were released because of the joint efforts of the Iraqi presidential office and the mayor of Tuz Khurmatu.”
On May 8, 2015, four presidential guards were abducted in Udhaim area, 90km north of Baghdad. Their fate remains unknown, though Hashd al-Shaabi militias are believed to be the abductors.
Lately, Kurdish officials warned that Kurdish residents in Baghdad are under continuous and severe threat by various militia groups.
A member of Baghdad Provincial Council (BPC), Fuad Ali Akbar, told K24 last month, “There is no guarantee Kurds will be safe in Baghdad; they receive death threats and are under constant attacks. Many are forced to leave their homes.”
Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran
Editing by Ava Homa and Karzan Sulaivany