Iraqi police forces detained four alleged Islamic State terrorists

Iraqi police forces in Nineveh province on Tuesday arrested four alleged Islamic State militants in the city of Mosul, local authorities said.

Mosul has been relatively stable since Iraqi forces regained control of the city about two years ago—although some Islamic State attacks have taken place amid worries by local authorities of continued terrorist sleeper cell activity.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry said in a statement that among the four arrestees, one of them worked for the Diwan Al-Hisba (administration) while the other three were fighters in the Diwan al-Jund (armed units) during the Islamic State’s takeover of Mosul from 2014 to 2017.

“They were arrested in the (Khazraj and Bab al-Baidh) area in eastern Mosul, based on accurate information,” the statement said.

Although nearly two years have passed since Iraq declared a final victory over the terrorist organization, the group continues to carry out insurgency-style attacks in parts of the country.

Such incidents, including attacks on security forces by the terrorist organization, have been on an uptick in recent weeks after months of relative quiet.

On Sunday, a roadside bomb exploded on a convoy as it was driving through a remote area in Iraq’s disputed Kirkuk province, injuring two Peshmerga fighters and five Coalition members.

That same day, coalition warplanes struck Islamic State positions in Makhmour district, which is also a disputed area located southwest of Erbil province. An Iraqi military statement said the operation had led to the deaths of a “large number of terrorists.”

Source: Kurdistan 24