DUBAI — Iraqi authorities have found the bodies of a Kuwaiti and a Saudi national resident in Kuwait who went missing while on a hunting trip in a desert area of Iraq, Kuwait's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
"Two bodies found by Iraqi authorities are believed to be those of a missing Kuwaiti and his Saudi companion who had disappeared in the western Anbar province," a foreign ministry statement said, cited by state news agency KUNA. It gave no further details.
An Iraqi military statement said the bodies were found after their vehicle was hit by an unexploded bomb left from the war against Islamic State militants.
On Monday, Iraqi security sources said they had launched a search operation for two Kuwaitis who were kidnapped in the desert.
A senior security official said the initial investigation suggested that unknown gunmen tried to kidnap the hunters.
The circumstances of the explosion and whether the two were in the hands of kidnappers when it occurred was not clear. The military said it was still investigating the matter.
The initial details received by Iraqi authorities showed that both hunters were Kuwaiti nationals but after further checks with security forces it appeared that one national was Kuwaiti and the other was Saudi, the source said.
The desert region is known to be a hiding place for Islamic State militants who are still active, Iraqi security sources told Reuters.
Kuwaiti foreign minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah al-Jaber Al-Sabah praised the Iraqi authorities for their efforts and said they were in contact to investigate the case further.
the bodies of a Kuwaiti and a Saudi national resident in Kuwait
who went missing while on a hunting trip in a desert area of
Iraq, Kuwait's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
"Two bodies found by Iraqi authorities are believed to be
those of a missing Kuwaiti and his Saudi companion who had
disappeared in the western Anbar...