IS militants kidnap 50 men in Iraq

Baghdad: Militants of the Islamic State (IS) group on Thursday kidnapped 50 men from a village in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk, a security source said.

The incident occurred in the afternoon when Islamic State militants attacked the Sunni Arab village of Tal Ali, some 60 km from Kirkuk, stormed houses in the village and kidnapped 50 male residents, Xinhua quoted the source who requested anonymity.

Islamic State militants withdrew earlier from the village after the residents expelled them and burned their flag. But they returned with forces and abducted the residents, a witness said.

Some others thought the abduction was only a forced recruitment for the men to join the Islamic State group in the fight against the security forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga (armed Kurdish fighters), the source said.

The village and the nearby town of Hawijah have been part of large areas seized over two months ago by the IS group, an al Qaeda offshoot group.