Complicated negotiations involving several countries netted the release of 26 hostages, including members of the Qatari royal family. The group was abducted while on a hunting trip in southern Iraq in December 2015. The deal, which also involved Iran and Hezbollah, was brokered in Lebanon and was dependent on the mass relocation of Syrians. It is believed that Qatar paid millions of dollars in ransom, and an al-Qaeda connected group may have been one of the beneficiaries. At the time, local militia groups were blamed for the kidnapping, but they have denied taking part.
At least 16 were killed and 12 were wounded:
Mortars wounded five people in Bashir.
Security forces killed two militants in an attack on Malha, but three civilians were injured.
Turkish jets targeting Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.) guerrillas in northern Iraq conducted airstrikes. One civilian woman was injured in the attack.
Several people were wounded in a suicide blast on a highway between Baghdad and Dujail.
An airstrike on Adhaim left six militants dead.
In Mosul, airstrikes killed five militants.
A missile strike near Daquq killed two militants and wounded three more.
