Students kidnapped at fake checkpoint near Baquba, Iraq

Baghdad: Nine university students and their driver were kidnapped on Sunday near Baquba, north of Baghdad, when gunmen stopped their vehicle at a fake checkpoint, police said.

The gunmen also grabbed another man in a truck at the same checkpoint and took all of the hostages to an unknown location, police said. The students were returning to Diyala University after a weekend break.

The kidnapping occurred two weeks after 40 students were seized by gunmen at a fake checkpoint near the northern city of Mosul. They were held for several hours before security forces freed them.