Islamic State member arrested for fighting against Iraqi troops in Kirkuk: Ministry
Iraqi troops carrying weapons during a fight against Islamic State
In a statement on Monday, Maj. Gen. Saad Maan, spokesperson for the ministry, said, “the intelligence department of Federal Police in Kirkuk managed to arrest one of the dangerous Islamic State members after setting an ambush for him.”
The militant, according to Maan, “confessed to fighting against army and al-hashd al-shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces).”
Last week, the Defense Ministry announced arresting 15 members of a terrorist cell in Kirkuk.
In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.
Thousands of 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. The group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.