Daesh executes 7 abducted civilians in Iraq’s Diyala

By Hussein al-Amir

BAGHDAD

At least seven civilians were executed after having been abducted earlier by Daesh terrorists near the city of Baquba in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province, according to a local security source.

“Daesh gunmen set up a fake security checkpoint on the road linking Baquba to the nearby town of Buhriz,” Diyala Police Chief Habib al-Shammari told Anadolu Agency.

“They abducted seven civilians who had been traveling in a minibus,” he said.

“Security forces later found their bodies; they appear to have been killed execution-style,” al-Shammari added.

Security forces, the police officer said, are now in the process of searching for the perpetrators.

Last month, Daesh terrorists abducted eight security personnel after setting up a fake checkpoint on the Kirkuk-Baghdad highway.

Their bodies, too, were found shortly afterward -- also bearing signs of execution -- on the Kirkuk-Saladin highway.

Late last year, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military capacity had been all but destroyed.

It appears, however, that the notorious terrorist group still maintains an active presence in the country, especially in northern and western Iraq.