Security

ISIS kidnapped three shepherds in Diyala governorate

“The shepherds were kidnapped in Khatuni village in the Hamrin district,” Diyala police spokesperson Nihad Muhammed told Kurdistan 24.

Kurdistan 24 2023/01/20 18:04

Iraq Diyala ISIS Garmiyan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Monday kidnapped three shepherds, according to the Diyala governorate police.

“The shepherds were kidnapped in Khatuni village in the Hamrin district,” Diyala police spokesperson Nihad Muhammed told Kurdistan 24.

“We have told citizens many times to not go to these areas because they will be targeted by ISIS militants,” the spokesperson added.

Last week, ISIS militants kidnapped two Kurdish shepherds near Dawda in the Garmiyan region.

The lack of security cooperation between Kurdish and Iraqi forces in the disputed territories, including Kirkuk, has led to an increased insurgency by the group, according to security experts and government officials.

The Iraqi Air Force regularly conducts strikes against the suspected hideouts of the militants in remote areas.

Warning of increasing ISIS threats, Kurdistan Region officials regularly call on their Iraqi counterparts to increase security cooperation in the disputed territories, where the group has launched several low-level insurgencies against civilian and security targets.