ISIS releases kidnapped Kurdish shepherd after $30k ransom is paid

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdish shepherd was released after his family paid more than $30,000 in ransom money to militants in the Kurdistan Region’s Garmiyan area, a security official told Kurdistan 24.

Sarwat Rasheed, kidnapped by suspected ISIS militants around Dawood in late April, remained in the militants’ captivity for more than two weeks, according to the source. 

The source did not elaborate on Rasheed’s health situation. 

This is not the first kidnapping incident in the area. In early April, another shepherd was kidnapped and released after his family paid $25,000 in ransom. 

Lack of cooperation between the Kurdistan Region and Iraqi government forces in the so-called “disputed territories” is one of the reasons behind the group’s ability to launch low-level insurgencies and kidnap civilians, according to Kurdish military officials. 

Four Arab shepherds were also kidnapped in the southern Kirkuk district of Daquq in early April. Their fates remain unknown. 

In their efforts to hunt down the remnants of ISIS, the Iraqi security forces regularly launch military operations against the group in the remote areas of the northern and eastern parts of the country. 

At least 17 militants of the group were killed as a result of two security operations in Mosul and Kirkuk since Tuesday, the military announced.