An SUV found partially submerged near an Upstate dam was reported stolen out of Laurens County, deputies said.

The SUV was in the Saluda River near the Holiday Dam in the Belton-area of Anderson County

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Members of the Anderson Fire Department Technical Rescue team searched the vehicle and found no one inside, said Josh Hawkins, the dive rescue coordinator at the scene.

"We looked throughout the whole car making sure no one was in it. We checked seats, floorboards. We train on this type of situation just to make sure we clear every inch of the car," Hawkins said. "When we got to the car the steering wheel was actually tied in a specific direction, so they had it tied to the car to go in one direction."

The SUV was pulledObama Commends Iraqi Cooperating in Retaking Dam

President Obama confirmed Monday that combined Kurdish and Iraqi forces with the backing of U.S. air strikes had retaken the Mosul dam in what he called a "major step forward" for his overall strategy to counter the threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

"This is going to take time, there are going to be many challenges ahead," Obama said at a White House briefing. However, the president said a growing anti-ISIL coalition could be encouraged by the cooperation between the Kurdish forces and the Iraqi National Security forces.

"If that dam was breached, it could've been catastrophic," Obama said. By combining to drive ISIL fighters from the dam, the Kurds and Iraqis "demonstrated they can work together," Obama said.

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