Iraqi army nab 3 Qaeda-linked group gunmen in Ninewa

NINEWA/IraqiNews.com: Iraqi army on Thursday announced its troops arrested three al-Qaeda-linked group gunmen in a military operation conducted in Ninewa. “An Iraqi army force captured a gunman from self-proclaimed Iraq’s Islamic State during a security operation conducted in Eden district, east Mosul,” a Ninewa military source told IraqiNews.com. “The force captured two more gunmen after tips confessed by the first detainee,” the source noted. Self-proclaimed Iraq’s Islamic State is a mantra for a number of Sunni groups. Al-Qaeda network in Iraq is one of major founders. Mosul, the provincial capital of Ninewa, 400 km north Baghdad, is viewed by U.S. and Iraqi authorities as one of the last remaining al-Qaida strongholds in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a two-phase military crackdown in the northern city in May. Ninewa officials said the gains from these operations, however, have disintegrated as militant groups re-entered the city there due to an insufficient number of Iraqi troops to maintain security following operations in May. AM(S) 1