Five ISIS Members Killed in Iraqi Airstrike in Kirkuk  

Iraqi security forces search for ISIS terrorists in June. (AFP)
Iraqi security forces search for ISIS terrorists in June. (AFP)
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Five ISIS Members Killed in Iraqi Airstrike in Kirkuk  

Iraqi security forces search for ISIS terrorists in June. (AFP)
Iraqi security forces search for ISIS terrorists in June. (AFP)

Five ISIS terrorists were killed during a swift air raid in Kirkuk (250 kilometers north of Baghdad), revealed an Iraqi military statement on Tuesday.

Additionally, two other individuals were apprehended in the same city through a well-executed ambush, the statement added.

“The intelligence personnel of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau have, after relentless efforts, successfully identified the group responsible for the terrorist attack that targeted a military convoy on the road connecting the Mullah Abdullah and Riyad districts in Kirkuk,” continued the statement.

The terrorist attack had resulted in the death and injury of several Iraqi security forces.

“In a daring raid, we successfully crushed five members of the terrorist group, seizing their weapons and equipment to serve as a lesson to the remnants of ISIS,” continued the statement.

“Our operations target the remnants of the terrorist gangs of ISIS, employing tactics that align with the nature and methods of the threat,” it affirmed.

In a related development, the Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday the arrest of “two terrorists” who were operating within the so-called “Diwan of Soldiers and Islamic Police” in Kirkuk.

“Based on accurate intelligence, the agency’s units in Kirkuk province successfully apprehended two wanted individuals” according to the Anti-Terrorism Law, read a statement by the Agency.

The arrest happened after “tracking and luring the outlaws into a well-planned ambush,” with the suspects confessing to their affiliation to ISIS as part of the so-called “Diwan of Soldiers and Islamic Police.”

They admitted to receiving training and financial support in exchange for carrying out terrorist activities.

The suspects also confessed to “participating in combat operations against the security forces, notably in the liberation battles and the battles in Qat Alas, Al-Ajeel, and Al-Ajilat.”

The statement indicated that “their confessions were documented, and they were referred to the relevant authorities to receive just punishment.”



Tunisian President Sets Election Date for Oct. 6

FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo
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Tunisian President Sets Election Date for Oct. 6

FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo

Tunisian President Kais Saied has set the presidential election date for Oct. 6 and is widely expected to seek a second term, with at least one potential candidate in jail and others facing prosecution, Reuters reported.

Elected president in 2019, Saied has not officially announced his candidacy but said last year he will not hand power to what he called non-patriots.

The opposition says fair and credible elections cannot be held unless imprisoned politicians are released and the media is allowed to do its job without pressure from the government.

Opposition parties including the Ennahda party and Free Constitutional Party say they see attempts by the government to exclude Saied's main rivals from the election.

Saied earlier this year criticized what he described as "politicians' jostling for office", saying those who previously boycotted parliamentary elections now wanted his job.

Abir Moussi, the leader of the Free Constitutional Party and a prominent candidate according to opinion polls, has been in prison since last year on charges of harming public security.

Moussi's party says she was imprisoned in an effort to remove her from the election race and avoid a very strong candidate. The authorities deny this.

Other candidates including Safi Saeed, Lotfi Maraihi, Nizar Chaari and Abd Ellatif Mekki are facing prosecution for alleged crimes such as fraud and money laundering.

Mondher Znaidi, a prominent potential candidate who is living in France, is also facing prosecution on suspicion of financial corruption.

Saied seized almost all powers in 2021, dissolved parliament, and began ruling by decree in a move that the opposition described as a coup. Saied said that his steps were legal and necessary to end years of rampant corruption among the political elite.

Prominent opponents of the president have been detained since last year on charges of conspiring against state security, in a crackdown that included businessmen, media figures and politicians.