10 Islamic State militants apprehended during combing operation in Mosul

Nineveh (Iraqinews.com) – Security forces arrested on Tuesday 10 Islamic State militants in Mosul city, a security source was quoted as saying.

“Ten Islamic State militants were arrested while trying to infiltrate into Sumer area in eastern Mosul,” the source told Baghdad Today.

“The arrest was made during the troops’ combing of the area,” the source said, adding that the IS terrorists were carrying fake IDs when arrested.

On Monday, an Islamic State militant turned himself in to security troops in Mosul city.

On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014. More than 25,000 militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in October 2016.

Since the city was declared free, security troops continue to comb Mosul for hidden IS cells. Despite the victory over IS there in the city, observers say IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.

A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led international coalition, has been fighting the Islamic State group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.