Three gunmen kidnap Kurdish farmer in Kirkuk
On Thursday, three unidentified gunmen abducted a Kurdish farmer in Kirkuk, one of Iraq's most contested and diverse provinces.
A security source told Shafaq News that the assailants, traveling in a civilian vehicle, seized the farmer while he was working near Altun Kupri, north of Kirkuk, and transported him to an undisclosed location.
Security forces have launched a search operation to locate the kidnappers and secure the farmer's release, the source noted, without providing further details.
Kirkuk, claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurdish governments, has long been a flashpoint for ethnic and political tensions. Its 1.9 million residents include Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians, all vying for influence over its oil-rich territory.
On Wednesday, Turkmen Front leader Mohammad Samaan Agha called for fair ethnic representation in Kirkuk's security and administrative institutions to preserve its diversity and promote genuine power-sharing.
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