SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi forces arrested two Islamic State (ISIS) leaders in western Baghdad, the country’s intelligence agency said on Friday (October 9).
In a statement, the Iraqi Intelligence Service said its units had arrested two senior ISIS members, known as Abu Islam and Abu Ghufran, in a raid in Abu Ghraib district in western Baghdad.
The intelligence units also seized improvised explosive devices and ammunition during the raid, the intelligence service added
“The terrorists were arrested on charges of Daesh membership,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Iraqi counter-terrorism forces detained another ISIS member in Fallujah during a “surprising operation” against the militants, Yehia Rasool, spokesman for commander-in-chief of the armed forces said.
Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service said in a tweet on Friday that its forces detained 37 ISIS members during 32 raids in September.
Iraqi forces have stepped up efforts to detain ISIS militants in the provinces of Kirkuk, Saladin, Anbar and Baghdad. On Oct. 7, the intelligence agency said its units had detained ISIS mufti of Rashad district in the so-called Kirkuk state. On September 22, Iraqi forces detained head of ISIS sleeper cell in Makhmour district, southwest of Erbil.
Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December 2017 but the militants have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range which extends into the northern provinces – an area described by officials as a “triangle of death”.
