SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Garmian Asayish forces on Wednesday said it had arrested an Islamic State (ISIS) militant who had worked as a “shepherd” with a forged identity.
“Following continued searches of the security forces to eliminate terrorism and eradicate terrorists’ hideouts, based on detailed information it found out there is an ISIS member worked as a shepherd under a forged identity,” read a statement from Garmian Asayish.
“After investigations, it found out the arrested had records of joining ISIS in 2015, confessing to Asayish,” it said, adding the arrested suspect has a brother who recently had been arrested by the security forces in connection with ISIS terror group.
Last Tuesday, Sulaimani Asayish announced that they had arrested eight suspects on terrorism charges in Chamchamal district and handed them to the judiciary.
“The suspects are charged with article 2 of terrorism laws,” read a statement from Sulaimani Asayish, adding that they had joined the al-Qaeda terror group back in 2004.
“After investigation, it was found the arrested had been involved in dozens of criminal acts, and they had all later pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS),” the statement added.
According to the suspects’ “confession” that Asayish obtained, they had role in killing Iraqi security forces and civilians after they become ISIS members.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014. While the group has been declared territorially defeated in 2017, it still poses a serious security threat to the country which is capable of carrying out hit-and-run attacks and abductions.
They are mostly active in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.
Moreover, last week, the General Directorate of Iraqi security and intelligence announced the arrest of six other suspects in Sulaimani on terrorism charges.
