Iraqi security announce capture of two Islamic State members in Nineveh
Iraqi security forces arrest a suspected member of the Islamic State group in Iraq. File photo
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces announced on Sunday the capture of two members of Islamic State in the group’s last bastion of Mosul city.
“The two terrorists were arrested while trying to escape from Tal Afar district to Mosul city using a stolen car with fake IDs in their possession,” Dijlah TV quoted the Nineveh Police Command as saying in a statement.
According to the statement, the pair have been taken to the headquarters of the Nineveh Police Command for interrogation.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced last August that Nineveh province has been “fully liberated” from Islamic State, after the district of Tal Afar was re-captured.
IS militants seized control of much of Nineveh, including the provincial capital of Mosul, in June 2014. Victory was declared in the city last July.
The Iraqi government launched an operation to retake Tal Afar last August involving some 50,000 personnel from the army, air force, federal police, special forces and the Shia Muslim-led paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces.
Despite the group’s defeat, isolated cells believed to be linked to the Islamic State group remain active in some parts of the country. In recent weeks, suspected Islamic State insurgents have carried out several attacks targeting security forces in different areas in Iraq.