ERBIL — Islamic State (IS) militants on executed two fishermen after kidnapping them in an area near Tuz Khurmatu, a disputed Kurdish town in Diyala province.

Tuz Khurmatu Police Chief Brigadier General Hussein Ali confirmed the report to BasNews and said the bodies were found in different locations on Saturday.

The victims were identified as Sofian Hashim and Rashid Monzir, from Dore subdistrict of Tikrit, Salahaddin province.

IS has lost the entire territory it once held between 2014 and 2017; however, the group remains a main security challenge in Iraq, especially in the areas known as the territories disputed between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Those areas remain under the control of the Iraqi forces. The Kurds, on multiple occasions, called for joint efforts to fill the security vacuums where IS jihadists regroup and organize attacks on civilians.