Iraqi Forces Arrest ISIS Members In New Security Campaign

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
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Iraqi Forces Arrest ISIS Members In New Security Campaign

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)

Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces continue to chase ISIS members in the north of Iraq staring from Kirkuk, which witnessed on Saturday a massacre that killed dozens from the federal police.

Major General Yahya Rasool, the spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, said that Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces are achieving victories in eradicating ISIS in the country.

A total of eight terrorists were arrested in various regions upon accurate intelligence information.

Moreover, Rasool said anti-terror unit snipers took out some of the militants in three provinces including Kirkuk.

The operation came after a deadly ISIS attack on a federal police outpost south of Kirkuk on Sunday, which left 13 members of security forces dead and wounded dozens.

Also, Iraqi Defense Minister Juma Inad arrived in Kirkuk on Wednesday heading a high-level security delegation following the attack to be briefed on current security measures, state media reported.

The delegation included Defense Minister, Army Chief of Staff, military adviser to the prime minister and deputy of joint operations, and others.

Member of Iraq's Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee Abdul-Khaleq al-Azzawi considered the developments in Rashad in Kirkuk as a blatant security violation.

He further confirmed that investigative committees have been formed to look into this.

Azzawi assured that it is unlikely that a similar massacre could occur in Diyala because the nature of security challenges is different there. Moreover, the governate underwent eight redeployment operations in the tensed areas.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Christian Ritscher of Germany as the Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS in Iraq.

The team was established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2379 (2017), to support domestic efforts to hold ISIS accountable by collecting, preserving, and storing evidence in Iraq of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed by ISIS in Iraq.

Ritscher will succeed Karim Asad Ahmad Khan of the United Kingdom, who was the first Special Adviser of UNITAD.



Israeli Military Issues Thousands of Call-up Notices

FILE PHOTO: A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
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Israeli Military Issues Thousands of Call-up Notices

FILE PHOTO: A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS

The Israeli military was issuing call-up notices to thousands of reservists on Saturday to support an expansion of its offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported, after the prime minister announced that his upcoming visit to Azerbaijan was postponed.
The reservists will be deployed to Israel's border with Lebanon and in the occupied West Bank, replacing regular soldiers who will lead a new offensive in Gaza, the news site Ynet reported.
The military had no immediate comment, Reuters said.
Earlier, the prime minister's office announced that Benjamin Netanyahu was rescheduling his May 7-11 visit to Azerbaijan, citing recent developments in Gaza and Syria.
The office, which also cited "the intense diplomatic and security schedule", did not announce a new date for the visit. Netanyahu had been expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev.
Israeli media reported on Friday that the security cabinet had approved plans for an expanded operation in the Gaza Strip.
Israel broke a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March after seeking to extend it without engaging in talks to permanently end the war. Hamas says it would release the remaining hostages in Gaza only in exchange for an end to the war.
The military has since intensified its bombing campaign and carved out wide buffer zones in Gaza, squeezing the 2.3 million population into an ever narrower zone in the center of the enclave and along the coast and shutting off aid supplies.
Israel's leadership has asserted that it is committed to its war goals of defeating Hamas and bringing back the last 59 hostages held in Gaza.
So far, 192 hostages have been released through negotiations and Israeli military operations since November 2023. Most had been abducted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led groups stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory war has reduced much of the territory to rubble and killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to health officials in Gaza.