Iraq’s national security service announced on Thursday the arrest of 20 members of an ISIS cell in the Nineveh, al-Anbar and Kirkuk regions.
During interrogation, four of the detainees in Nineveh disclosed the location of their hideout where several light and medium weapons and explosive devices were found.
In Kirkuk, the security forces arrested a prominent ISIS terrorist.
The agency said he played an influential role in Iraq when the “terrorist gangs controlled some parts of the country.”
On Tuesday, Iraq received 185 relatives of ISIS members who were held in Syria's al-Hol camp that holds extremists.
The relatives have been moved to a rehabilitation center in the al-Jadaa region, said Nineveh MP Sherwan Al-Doberdani.
The return of relatives of ISIS terrorists is a contentious issue in Iraq, which waged three years of war against the extremists from 2014 to 2017 that ended with ISIS’ defeat.
At the height of its power, the group had seized nearly a third of Iraq. Remnants of the group remain active in the country despite the defeat.
Iraqi authorities often make announcements of the arrest of its members and cells.
In early 2024, Iraq erected a border fence with Syria to tighten security along the porous border that Iraq has said has been easily infiltrated by terrorists.
The wall stretches 160 kms from the al-Qaim region and rises up to three meters.
