In Iraq’s Anbar province, two Kuwaiti nationals have been kidnapped while on a hunting trip, according to two security officials.
A police colonel confirmed that the kidnapping occurred in a desert area between Anbar and Salahuddin provinces on Sunday.
However, the Iraqi foreign ministry statement mentioned only one Kuwaiti national, with Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein assuring his Kuwaiti counterpart that the Iraqi government would “determine the fate of the Kuwaiti national”.
Following a phone call between the two ministers on Monday, the statement was released.
According to Iraqi security officials, an initial investigation revealed that the hunters’ vehicle was attacked by gunmen, leading to the disappearance of the two Kuwaitis.
The desert region is known to be a hiding place for Islamic State militant groups that are still active, the two security sources said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident at this time. Wealthy Gulf state hunters frequently travel to Iraq’s southern and western desert in search of hawks.
One police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the Kuwaitis had been in an extensive and dangerous desert area, as Islamic State is still active there.
(Reporting by Kamal Ayash in Anbar and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Barbara Lewis)
