- The women had been traveling with three compatriots on the road connecting Baghdad to oil city Kirkuk
MANILA: The Philippines confirmed on Monday that the two Filipino women abducted in Iraq last week have been rescued and some of their captors arrested.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano expressed gratitude to authorities in Iraq for the swift and successful rescue of the two Filipinos who were reportedly seized by armed men last Friday.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Iraqi authorities informed the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad on Sunday that the two were under police custody after they were rescued in Diyala Province, north of the capital, on Saturday.
"We thank God for the successful rescue of our two kababayan (countrymen)," Cayetano said after he was informed of the development.
“Their safe recovery would not have been possible without the swift response of our Iraqi friends and for that we are very grateful.”
Citing a report from Chargé d’Affaires Julius Torres, the DFA said the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad was informed by authorities in Diyala province that the two were rescued from members of a criminal group who forcibly took them.
Torres said Iraqi authorities told the embassy that several members of the group had been arrested during the police rescue operation and that charges were being prepared against them.
Torres said the embassy has requested Iraqi authorities access to the two rescued women and the two other Filipinas who were earlier reported to have been taken into custody after escaping from the same armed men.
Earlier reports indicate that the four Filipinas came from Erbil in the northern Kurdistan region and were on their way to Baghdad when their vehicle broke down along the highway in Uzem District between Kirkuk and Diyala where they encountered armed men in a yellow car.
The women were then forcibly taken by the armed men after their driver abandoned their vehicle. However, two of the four women were reportedly able to escape.
Torres said the Embassy would request custody of the four women as soon as the police investigation is concluded so that they can immediately be repatriated.
A DFA official said they could not release the names of the four women without consent of their next of kin.
The Embassy estimated that there are 4,000 Filipinos working in Iraq, with around 3,000 based in Kurdistan.
Reports note that there has been a surge in violence and abduction incidents by remnants of Daesh since Iraq declared victory over the terror group last year.
Meanwhile, the DFA continues to work to secure the release of three Filipino technicians abducted in Libya during the weekend. The Philippine Embassy in Tripoli said the three Filipinos were among four foreign nationals taken by armed men from a waterworks project site Friday.
Chargé d’Affaires Mardomel Melicor said armed men entered the construction site located 500 kilometers from Tripoli early morning Friday and took five foreigners and four Libyans from their quarters.
Melicor said the armed men later released one of the foreign workers and all the Libyans.
Earlier reports indicate that apart from the three Filipinos, a South Korean national was also abducted by the armed men during the raid at the water plant south of the capital of Tripoli.
Reports further state that kidnapping has become a lucrative trade in Libya amid the breakdown of authority.
The DFA has likewise declined to release the names of the three Filipinos abducted in Libya without the approval of their families.