Two Islamic State members arrested in security operation in Mosul
Iraqi forces patrol an area in Iraq during a military operation to push out Islamic State. File Photo
“The Rapid Response troops in Nineveh managed to arrest two Islamic State members,” Maj. Gen. Saad Maan, the ministry spokesperson, said in a statement on Wednesday. “The militants were arrested in al-Quds and al-Ta’meem districts in western Mosul.”
On Tuesday, the ministry said seven militants were arrested during operations launched in several regions across Mosul. One of them was previously sentenced to life in absentia.
Four Iraqi army personnel were killed, earlier this week, in clashes with IS in Nimrud, southeastern Mosul. Last week, security personnel in Nineveh killed seventeen IS members as they attacked an army convoy in a village in Badush region, west of Mosul, the Turkish Anadolu agency reported.
Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.
Thousands of IS militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced, in December, full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members.