PKK abducts 3 villagers in Iraq’s Erbil: Local official

By Mazin Baqal and Azad Abdullah

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - Local officials in Erbil, the administrative capital of northern Iraq’s Kurdish region, confirmed Tuesday that three local people had been abducted from the city’s outskirts by the PKK terrorist group.

Muslih Zirar, headman of Erbil’s village of Warta, told Anadolu Agency that PKK terrorists had abducted three villagers -- for unknown reasons -- on Saturday.

According to Zirar, the three villagers’ fate remains unknown until now.

He noted, however, that the abductions took place after the Turkish military stepped up its activities in the Iraq-Turkey border area.

Zirar also said that the PKK’s expulsion from the area was the only way to ensure peace in the region.

According to a well-informed source who spoke to Anadolu Agency anonymously due to security concerns, the three abductees -- Hizir Dana, Hamadamin Halgur and Mahmoud Abdullah Omar -- are all of Kurdish origin.