Over 8,500 people arrested in Nineveh on suspicion of joining Islamic State
Iraqi soldiers celebrate victory over Islamic State
The arrests were made upon accurate intelligence information and tip-offs from citizens, a security source told Baghdad Today on Sunday.
“Also, 100 people were ordered to be executed by specialized courts in the governorate on the same charge,” he concluded.
In August, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that Nineveh province has been “fully liberated” from Islamic State, after the district of Tal Afar was re-captured.
Abadi’s announcement followed the defeat of the militant group in the town of Ayadiya, where the militants had fled to from Tal Afar.
The group has suffered a string of territorial losses in recent months.
“Our happiness is complete, victory has arrived and the province of Nineveh is now entirely in the hands of our forces,” a statement from the prime minister said.
The Iraqi government launched an operation to retake Tal Afar on 20 August involving some 50,000 personnel from the army, air force, federal police, special forces and the Shia Muslim-led paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces.
IS militants seized control of much of Nineveh, including the provincial capital of Mosul, in June 2014. Victory was declared in the city in July.