Iraq security arrest senior IS member sneaking in from Syria
Iraqi security forces arrest a suspected fighter with the Islamic State group during a military operation.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security authorities said Wednesday they arrested an Islamic State member while trying to sneak into the country coming from Syria.
The Security Media Center’s spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasoul, said the terrorist was arrested after troops ambushed him while coming from Syria’s Dashisha, a village near the Iraqi borders.
He added that the militant confessed to the interrogators he was a senior member of the extremist group.
Iraq declared the recapture of territories occupied by IS militants in December, and claimed full control over the borders with Syria, but occasional attacks by the group on civilians and security forces have recently prompted the government to carry out strikes on IS locations inside Syria.
U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish troops, and Russian-backed Syrian government forces have recaptured the extremists’ main bases in Syria, and remnant militant groups there have been evacuated from their latest bastions as part of agreements with Syrian forces sponsored by Russia.