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Iraqi Kurds rescue Swedish teen from Daesh

Tuesday, 23 February 2016 4:45 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 23 February 2016 4:49 PM ]

File photo of Iraqi Kurdish troops during a military operation south of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk ©AP

Iraqi Kurdish forces have rescued a Swedish teenage girl from the hands of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists during an operation near the northern city of Mosul controlled by the militants.

According to a Tuesday statement by the government in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, the anti-terrorist forces carried out the operation on February 17 near Mosul, located about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.

The 16-year-old girl from the Swedish town of Boras "was misled" by a member of Daesh in Sweden to travel to Syria and later to Mosul, the statement said.

The government said Swedish authorities then called on the Kurdistan Regional Security Council to assist in locating and rescuing her from Daesh.

The teen, who is now in Iraqi Kurdish territory, is due to be "transferred to Swedish authorities to return home once necessary arrangements" are made, the statement said.

Kurdish officials did not release further details on the rescue operation but a senior unnamed security official said the operation took place “secretly in the center of Mosul” instead of near the city “without clashes or the arrest of any gunmen.”

Mosul, which is Iraq's second-largest city, fell to Daesh in June 2014, when the group overran parts of the country's north and west.

The Daesh militants have been committing crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians in areas under their control.

The Iraqi army and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units are engaged in joint military operations to win back militant-held regions.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has also vowed that the country will bring an end to Daesh existence in the country this year.

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