IRBIL: The Iraqi Kurdish government says its troops have rescued a Swedish teenager from the Islamic State group near the city of Mosul, which is controlled by the extremists.

A statement from the regional government, released on Tuesday, says the rescue operation by the Kurdish anti-terrorist forces took place on February 17 near the IS-held city of Mosul in Iraq.

The statement identified the young woman by name, saying she is a 16-year-old from the town of Boras who "was misled" by an IS member in Sweden to travel to Syria and later to Mosul.

It also says the Swedish authorities and the teenager's family had asked the Iraqi Kurdish government for help in the case. The young woman is currently in Iraqi Kurdish territory and will be transferred to Sweden.