Islamic State release Diyala tribal fighter for USD50.000 ransom
Tribal fighters. File photo.
Alghad Press quoted the source Sunday saying that the fighter was kidnapped along with three others when IS members invaded their checkpoint in Hamreen Dam region in Saadiya, northeast of Diyala.
He was released at the dawn of Sunday after his family paid the militants USD50.000 in ransom. He had been subjected to torture throughout his captivity, according to family members quoted by the source.
Islamic State militants attacked a checkpoint erected by al-Hashd al-Ashaeri (Tribal Mobilization) forces in Jubour village, northeast Diyala, kidnapping four members and decapitating three of them hours later for collaborating with security forces.
Islamic State has escalated assaults on civilians, security forces and paramilitary troops in Diyala and neighboring provinces since it began losing ground in Mosul, its largest stronghold in Iraq where government troops regained a majority of territory since October 2016.
The group has reportedly suffered financial hardships and lost dozens of its senior leaders in encounters with government and paramilitary forces across Iraq. It has reportedly forcibly squeezed out money from civilians to finance its battles