Iraqi military: 3 Islamic State terrorists apprehended in Mosul
Iraqi security forces arrest a suspected member of the Islamic State group in Iraq. File photo
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) – Three Islamic State militants were arrested Monday in Mosul city, the Iraqi army announced as the country still hunts for dormant cells of the extremist group nationwide.
“Troops of the Military Intelligence Directorate launched a wide-scale security operation in Hamam Al-Alil district in the western side of Mosul, managing to arrest three Islamic State terrorists,” Almaalomah news website quoted the directorate as saying in a statement.
According to the statement, the trio took part in the armed attacks that targeted security forces during Islamic State’s capture of Mosul city in 2014-2017.
Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced in July 2017 liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014. More than 25,000 militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in October 2016.
The campaign was backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led international coalition.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq in November 2017 with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.