Iraqi Security Forces dismantle an ISIS assassination cell in Diyala

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Security Forces arrested four members of an ISIS cell tasked with conducting assassinations in the country's central-eastern Diyala province on Wednesday.

The Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated with Iraq's armed forces, stated that security services were able to "arrest four terrorists against whom judicial warrants were issued" in accordance with the anti-terrorism law.

The statement added that the wanted men constituted a "security detachment tasked with carrying out assassinations."

The media cell also said that one of the wanted individuals was an official "who held the position of the so-called Shariah of al-Azim region in Diyala."

The "second was an assistant to the commander of the region," and the remaining two were merely described as "terrorists".

Security forces said the arrest was made "based on intelligence and a field effort." However, it did not mention where the arrest took place.

ISIS cells remain active in rural parts of northern and western Iraq and launch sporadic attacks against Iraq and Kurdish security forces and civilians.

ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017 following a three-year war to reclaim the third of the country's territory the group infamously conquered and declared its self-styled caliphate on top of in 2014.