Kidnapped by ISIS: Kirkuk farmer freed after month-long captivity in a hole

Shafaq News / On Sunday, the administration of the Altun Kupri district in northern Kirkuk announced that ISIS has released a Kurdish farmer it kidnapped a month ago and held in a hole, indicating that the young man's release was secured in exchange for a sum of money paid by his family.

The district director, Abdul Matlub Najm al-Din, told Shafaq News Agency, "The young man, Raber Hussein Haj Jawhar (21 years old), was kidnapped on September 6 while working on his farm, where he was attacked by three ISIS armed members who took him to a remote area and held him in a hole in the ground."

"The young man spent a full month in that hole and was given only one meal a day, which consisted of just potatoes." The director pointed out, "The ISIS militants interrogated him several times, and after confirming that he was a farmer and not affiliated with the security forces, they began bargaining with his family for his release in exchange for money."

Najm al-Din further indicated, "The young man reported he could hear the voices of dozens of ISIS militants in the area before they released him today near the village of Rozhbayani, which is part of the Altun Kupri district."

In this context, security expert Ali al-Bayati confirmed to Shafaq News, "ISIS has a presence in the border strip between Kirkuk and Erbil, specifically in the vulnerable areas between Altun Kupri, the Mama mountains, and the outskirts of the Dibis district, as evidenced by the kidnapping of the young man and his release after a month."

Al-Bayati stressed the necessity of "conducting extensive military operations in these areas to eliminate ISIS groups," calling on "all Iraqi forces to coordinate with the Peshmerga forces to address the threat posed by ISIS in these areas and to initiate large-scale military operations that will not stop until these areas are cleared."

ISIS in Kirkuk

ISIS has been a persistent threat in Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic region in northern Iraq. Despite losing territorial control in Iraq in 2017, ISIS remnants continue to operate in rural and mountainous areas, conducting attacks against civilians and security forces.

Kirkuk is considered a disputed area, with competing claims from the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. This dispute has led to a lack of cohesive security measures and the presence of many security vacuums—areas where neither side exerts full control.

ISIS and other militant groups exploit these vacuums to carry out attacks and establish hideouts.