Iraqi army recovers 6 civilians abducted by Daesh

By Hussein al-Amir

BAGHDAD (AA) - The Iraqi army found six civilians hours after they were abducted by Daesh terrorists in the Saladin province north of Baghdad, an Iraqi security source said Wednesday.

“Daesh gunmen abducted six civilians on Tuesday in the Maftoul area near Saladin province,” Habib al-Shammari, a police captain in the neighboring Diyala province, told Anadolu Agency.

Al-Shammari went on to say that Iraqi army forces had conducted a “major security operation” on Maftoul’s outskirts where they had found the abductees tied up inside an abandoned building.

The terrorists, the police officer added, had fled the area before the arrival of security forces.

Last December, Iraqi officials declared that Daesh's military presence in Iraq had been all but dismantled.

It appears the notorious terrorist group, however, still maintains "sleeper cells" in certain parts of the country, including Saladin and Diyala provinces.