ISIS members set up checkpoint, kidnap civilians on Iraqi’s Erbil-Makhmur road
ERBIL, Iraq (North Press) – Members of the Islamic State (ISIS) kidnapped a number of residents in Makhmour district, 50 km south of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“Last night, ISIS members set up a fake checkpoint near the village of Kendal on the Erbil-Makhmur road,” Ghayath Surji, the media official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Nineveh, told North Press.
“The armed members kidnapped nine civilians of the residents of the village after seizing their vehicles, but four of the kidnapped managed to flee after skirmishes between the villagers and ISIS members to release their relatives,” Surji said.
Three civilians from the village were injured during the skirmishes, which did not last long, as a result of which the ISIS members fled towards Mount Qarachogh, near Makhmur district, along with five of the kidnapped, according to Surji.
The fate of the kidnapped is still unknown, while forces of the Peshmerga began a security combing campaign and pursued the organization’s members.