Kurdish farmer freed after nearly a month of captivity by suspected ISIS militants in Kirkuk

KIRKUK — A Kurdish farmer, Rabar Hussein, abducted by militants claiming to be ISIS in the Altun Kupri district, north of Kirkuk, was released late Saturday night after being held captive for nearly a month.

Hussein was kidnapped from the village of Kitka, located on the road between Kirkuk and Altun Kupri. Abdul Mutalib Najmuddin, head of the Altun Kupri subdistrict, confirmed Hussein’s release late Saturday, reuniting him with his family.

“The family was notified around midnight and instructed to pick him up from the village of Rojbayan, near the Altun Kupri border,” Najmuddin told 964media. “Hussein was held underground for nearly a month, receiving minimal water and food once a day.”

Hussein reported that his captors were masked, Arabic-speaking men who warned, “You should thank God you don’t work for any security agency, or we would have killed you,” according to Najmuddin.

Attempts to reach Hussein’s family for further comment were met with silence, as they said their son was too exhausted to speak. Security forces have launched an investigation to gather information on the abductors.

Multiple sources confirmed that Hussein’s release followed a ransom payment, though both the family and local officials have avoided discussing the details, likely due to fears of associating with ISIS.

A source familiar with the case told 964media that the ransom was intended to support the families of ISIS fighters, including widows and orphaned children.

Since its territorial defeat in 2017, ISIS has increasingly resorted to kidnappings as a means of raising funds through ransom. Security officials cite a lack of coordination between Kurdish and Iraqi forces as a factor contributing to the rise in such attacks in areas near the border between the two forces.