Baghdad, June 20 (IANS): Islamic State terrorists have kidnapped dozens of Sunni tribesmen in northern Iraq, media reported on Saturday.

The Sunni radical group abducted 70 men from the Dulaim tribe, west of Tikrit, the capital of Salahuddin Province, Arabic-language al-Forat news agency reported.

There was still no word on the whereabouts of those abducted or whether the kidnappers have made any demands.

Members of the IS terrorist group have on numerous occasions kidnapped tribesmen in areas they control in Iraq and Syria.

Located some 130 km north of the capital Baghdad, Tikrit was seized by the IS terrorists last summer along with Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul and other areas in the Arab country’s Sunni heartland.

The city has a strategic position as it sits on the road to Mosul.

On March 31, 2015, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the liberation of Tikrit from the clutches of the IS extremists following weeks of intense fighting.

The Iraqi army, backed by volunteer forces, has managed to drive IS terrorists out of many areas they had seized last year.