Iraqi police arrest five suspected IS members in Mosul as group threatens to reemerge

Iraqi security forces continue to arrest people for suspected links to the extremist group ever since Mosul, once a major stronghold for the group, was cleared of IS militants last year.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi police have arrested five people in Mosul with alleged ties to the Islamic State (IS), a senior security official said on Monday.

“The suspects were arrested in western Mosul on a tip-off from local residents,” Nineveh Police Chief Brigadier General Hamad al-Jabouri was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency.

Iraqi security forces continue to arrest people for suspected links to the extremist group ever since Mosul, once a major stronghold for the group, was cleared of IS militants last year.

Despite Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declaring a “final victory” over IS in December, the extremist group is still present in the country where they continue to carry out random bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings.   

On Sunday, Iraqi forces ambushed and killed five IS members who were plotting an attack in Kirkuk Province.

“The militants were ambushed by Iraqi security forces while preparing to attack a village in the al-Rashad district, southwest of Kirkuk,” Captain Hamed al-Obaidi told Anadolu.

Obaidi added that “several other militants had fled unscathed.”

The security situation in Kirkuk remains tense ever since the withdrawal of Kurdish Peshmerga following a military takeover of the region by Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias.

The area had been protected by the Kurdish troops for years until Oct. 16, 2017, when Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia-dominated Hashd al-Shaabi forces advanced with tanks and heavy artillery demanding the Peshmerga leave their posts.

The move was a reaction from the central government in Baghdad to the Kurdistan Region’s historic Sep. 25 independence referendum.

As IS threatens to reemerge across Iraq, there have been rumors of a redeployment of Peshmerga forces to Kirkuk and other disputed areas.