Islamic State emir arrested in operation, south of Mosul: Military intelligence
An Iraqi security man in Iraq
In a statement, the department said, “an operation was carried out depending on an accurate information that enabled the military intelligence to arrest an Islamic State emir in Hammam al-Alil region in south of Mosul.”
Earlier today, the Nineveh Operations command said 26 people in western Mosul over their suspected affiliation with the Islamic State,
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.
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.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced, in December, full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members.
As many as 3,298 civilians were killed and 4,781 others were wounded in 2017, excluding Anbar civilian casualty figures for November and December, which are not available, UNAMI said in a report in December.