On Wednesday, December 16, the Governor of Al-Muthanna, Falih Abdul Hassan Al-Ziyadi, revealed details of the kidnapping of Qatari hunters in the Al-Samawah desert.
The governor stated that the militants kidnapped 26 hunters, all of Qatari nationality, using 70 four-wheel-drive vehicles.
In an interview with Sumeria News, Al-Ziyadi said that “a large armed force in approximately 70 four-wheel-drive vehicles entered the Al-Samawah desert at dawn on Wednesday, specifically in the Al-Haniyah area near the Basia district,” explaining that “the militants carried out a kidnapping operation targeting 26 Qatari hunters who were camping in the aforementioned area.”
Al-Ziyadi clarified that “the Qataris obtained the necessary entry permits from the official authorities, namely the Ministry of Interior,” noting that “the local government of Al-Muthanna had previously informed the Ministry of Interior that it was unable to protect Gulf delegations due to the vast area.”
The Governor of Al-Muthanna explained that “the Al-Samawah desert constitutes one-third of Iraq’s area and is a very vast desert, with the majority of its areas being unsecured,” pointing out that “the security force tasked with protecting the hunters was much smaller than the force that kidnapped them.”
He added that “the force tasked with protecting them was unable to engage or retaliate due to the large number of members in the kidnapping force,” emphasizing that “there was no clash between the security forces and the kidnappers.”