Military intelligence arrests two Islamic State members in operation in Kirkuk
Iraqi security forces arrest a suspected fighter with the Islamic State group during a military operation.
In a statement on Thursday, the department said “depending on accurate intelligence information, an operation was carried out by the department. Troops managed to arrest two members of Islamic State’s so-called Kirkuk State.”
According to the statement, the two suspects are wanted as arrest warrants were issued against them by court.
Earlier this week, Six Islamic State militants were killed in a security campaign in Hawija city, west of Kirkuk. The city was recaptured from Islamic State last year.
In December, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members.
Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, have been fighting since October 2016 to retake territories Islamic State had occupied. Since then, forces took back the group’s former capital, Mosul, the town of Tal Afar, Kirkuk’s Hawija, and Anbar’s Annah, Rawa and Qaim.
The war against IS has so far displaced at least five million people. Thousands of others fled toward neighboring countries including Syria, Turkey and other European countries, since IS emerged to proclaim its self-styled “caliphate”.