Iraqi intelligence rescues engineer kidnapped in Basra, arrests three suspects

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency said an engineer kidnapped by an armed group in Basra has been rescued and 200 million Iraqi dinars paid as ransom recovered. According to the agency, the armed group transported the engineer at gunpoint to an unknown location using a four-wheel-drive vehicle. An intelligence and technical team tracked the abductors and located the engineer after determining he had been moved from Basra to Dhi Qar via the Nasiriyah road. Following judicial approval, security forces carried out an operation that freed the engineer unharmed, arrested three suspects and seized materials linked to the crime, the agency said. The recovered 200 million dinars were also seized during the operation, according to the statement. The suspects were referred to judicial authorities to face legal proceedings, and the engineer was returned to his family along with the ransom after undergoing a medical check.