Security forces nab 15 wanted suspects in Ninewa

NINEWA/IraqiNews.com: Joint Iraqi army and police forces on Friday arrested 15 suspects during operations conducted in Ninewa. “A force from Support battalion working on Ninewa Operations Command captured an individual forging credentials for gunmen in Bab al-Toob district, central Mosul,” a security source said. “Army forces detained ten wanted individuals during raid-and search operations conducted in districts of Eden and Intisar,” the source noted. The security highlighted “four suspects and confiscate their car in al-Hamadaniya district, 25, east Mosul”. 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. AN(S) 1