Iraqi forces say they killed 15 Islamic State members, arrested senior leader

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi forces reportedly killed 15 Islamic State (IS) members in an underground tunnel and arrested a leader in the organization following separate operations in the provinces of Salahuddin and Nineveh.

Reports indicate IS activity continue to grow, with regular insurgency-style attacks, ambushes, bombings, and kidnappings taking place in liberated and disputed areas despite Baghdad declaring final victory against the extremist group over a year ago.

Police forces of Modul’s al-Karama neighborhood “arrested a Da’esh [IS] leader” who held a ranking position dealing with the judicial aspects of the organization’s governance system “in the days the terrorists controlled the city of Mosul,” read a statement by the Ministry of Interior (MoI).

The ministry said the captured individual had “confessed” he was communicating with IS members from different nationalities via the Internet.

Iraqi security forces have ramped up their efforts against IS as safety concerns mount, especially in areas contested between Baghdad and Erbil.

In another statement, the MoI on Wednesday claimed they had killed 15 IS members in an operation in Salahuddin, without specifying the date of the attack.

The security forces of Salahuddin’s Operations Command “have completed a search operation which led to the destruction of two hideouts used by the terrorists and the killing of 15 elements inside a large tunnel.”

On Tuesday, Shia militias said they would be launching a multi-pronged military operation against sleeper cells of IS mainly in disputed areas near Kirkuk Province.

Since the Oct. 16 military takeover of the disputed province by Iraqi forces and Shia militias in response to the Kurdistan Region’s controversial independence referendum, Kirkuk has been witnessing heightened instability and insecurity.

The area was previously under the protection of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, who fought alongside Iraqi security forces to drive out IS, but were eventually driven out in an assault that has affected efforts against the lasting defeat of the group.

Editing by Nadia Riva