Two Kurdish brothers found dead after alleged abduction by ISIS

The dead bodies of two Kurdish youths were found on Thursday after they were allegedly abducted by so-called Islamic State militants in Khanaqin, Diyala province, a local source told Kurdistan 24.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The dead bodies of two Kurdish youths were found on Thursday after they were allegedly abducted by so-called Islamic State militants in Khanaqin, Diyala province, a local source told Kurdistan 24.

On Wednesday night, at a “fake checkpoint” set up by Islamic State militants at the Dakai Michael Village near Kahanqin district, two people were ambushed and later their truck was set ablaze by the militants, a source familiar with the incident told Kurdistan 24.

“After seeing the truck on fire, two Kurdish brothers named Saman Dawood and Luqman Dawood tried to reach the scene and extinguish the blaze,” the source added, but they were also ambushed by the terrorists and were abducted last night.

Local officials announced that earlier in the morning they had found dead bodies of the abducted brothers close to the area where their kidnapping occurred.

Units of the Iraqi army were close to the area where the ambush took place, according to the source.

However, allegations are directed towards the Islamic State for the murders of the two Kurdish brothers. The terror group has not claimed responsibility yet.

Despite the territorial defeat the terror group suffered in 2017, it has been able to sporadically launch hit-and-run attacks in those areas that are devoid of security cooperation between the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces and Iraq’s security forces.

A United Nations counter-terrorism official announced that the Islamic State remains a serious threat in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere around the world, over two years after the territorial defeat of the extremist organization.

Read More: UN terrorism office stresses need for 'continued vigilance' against ISIS

Top Kurdistan Region officials and Peshmerga commanders have issued repeated warnings to both the Iraqi government and the international community that the Islamic State remains active and capable of reasserting itself and re-emerging in the disputed territories to continue its campaign of violence.

A “security vacuum,” as Kurdish officials have described it, has made the disputed areas in Diyala, Salahuddin, and Kirkuk more vulnerable to Islamic State attacks.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany