Six ISIS suspects arrested in Kirkuk: Security source
The arrested individuals had “links” with those killed in that ambush, the sources told Kurdistan 24.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi forces arrested six ISIS suspects in Kirkuk who had intended to carry out attacks inside the oil-rich province, security sources told Kurdistan 24.
The suspects were arrested in three different areas of the province, including Panja Ali neighborhood, Feylaq, and southern Kirkuk, sources from the Iraqi National Security Service told Kurdistan 24.
They are part of a “dangerous network” that planned to carry out “terrorist attacks” in the disputed city of Kirkuk, the sources added.
Security forces recently killed two suicide bombers in an ambush in Kirkuk’s Riyadh subdistrict.
The arrested individuals had “links” with those killed in that ambush, the sources told Kurdistan 24.
Nearly a third of Iraq came under the control of ISIS in early 2014, when the group declared its self-styled caliphate. Iraq reclaimed all of its territory from the ISIS caliphate after three years of intense fighting with the support of national and international forces.
ISIS remnants still operate in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad and have recently ramped up their hit-and-run attacks against security forces and civilians alike.
In less than a month, more than 20 people, including Peshmerga, were killed in ISIS attacks.
The attacks come as the US-led coalition, a vital component in the fight against ISIS, has ended its combat mission in Iraq. The coalition’s mission in Iraq is now solely an advisory and training one.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi officially announced the shift in the roles of the international forces in Iraq on Wednesday. He extended his appreciation to them for their support against the fundamentalists.