Eight alleged ISIS members arrested in Iraq

Iraqi security forces have reported the apprehension of eight individuals suspected of affiliation with the Islamic State (ISIS) in the provinces of Anbar, Nineveh, and Maysan. These arrests were made pursuant to the 2005 anti-terrorism statute. This operation forms part of ongoing counter-terrorism initiatives implemented in recent months within the contested zones situated between Baghdad and Erbil, encompassing the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahaddin, Nineveh, and Diyala, with the objective of dismantling extant ISIS cells. Despite the declaration of ISIS’s territorial defeat in 2017, the organization persists in conducting bombings, targeted assaults, and abductions across various provinces within the nation. In a recent communication to local news outlets, the director of Iraq’s Security Media Cell stated that Iraqi security forces have substantially eliminated ISIS presence within the country, with only a few hundred militants remaining in isolated regions.