ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – With Shiite militias revived to counter the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) militants in Iraq, Sunnis, Christians and Kurds report a growing trend in blackmail, and kidnappings for ransom.
Although abductions have been a part of daily life in Baghdad for many years, victims or their relatives say they suspect the militias are now involved because non-Shiites are not only ordered to pay, they are ordered to leave.
“An anonymous person contacted me by phone at my job, demanding that I pay $30,000, evacuate my house and quit my job. Otherwise, I would die,” said a Christian resident of Baghdad who works at a government job.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said that his identity, whereabouts and job were well known to the caller. The victim was given only a few hours to inform his family and empty his home in the al-Ghadeer district. He later left for Jordan.
Baghdad has come under the growing sway of the militias since the collapse of Iraq’s army and security forces in June, when the IS armies took over large swaths of territory in the north. The Shiite government called on the militias to rise up in defense.
Ahmed al-Jabouri, a resident of the Nahrawan area in southern Baghdad, told Rudaw: “My brother Abbas was kidnapped two days ago by the militias in Abu Dashir in Dora. He is still unaccounted for. We tried contacting all the hospitals and police stations, but our efforts were fruitless.”
He said his brother, a 34-year-old taxi driver, is believed to have been stopped at a fake checkpoint and taken hostage. “We are still waiting to be contacted by the kidnappers,” he added.
Victims or their families report that the kidnappers often use text messages to make their demands, and that the amount asked is usually subject to negotiation.
The agreed ransom is usually between $20,000 and $30,000 – a huge sum for anyone holding a job. But relatives say that after the ransom is paid, they often still find the victim’s body at the morgue.
Chalak Najm, a Kurd living in the Jihad district in western Baghdad where Shiite militias are stationed, left his home and job after receiving a death threat against his son.
“Most of the victims are either Sunni Arabs or Kurds,” he said. The kidnappings are being done by one of the larger militias, the Asaeb Ahl al-Haq, the Badr militia or Hezbollah, he added.
Najm had good reason to fear. He said that one of his friends, a Sunni Arab, was kidnapped and tortured, and his dead body dumped at a hospital a week later.
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