SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdish security forces have detained 22 suspected members of Islamic State (ISIS) militant group in Sulaimani and its surrounding areas, authorities said on Tuesday.
The Kurdistan Region’s Asayish Agency said its units had carried out 22 operations in Sulaimani, Garmian, Chamchamal and Said Sadiq to detain the suspects.
“One of the terrorists is Abu Ali Jumaila, the [so-called] Wali of Falluja, who entered the Kurdistan Region using a fake identity card,” the agency said in a statement.
The ISIS suspects planned to carry out “several terrorist acts” in the area, according to the statement.
“In some large-scale campaigns under the supervision of the head of the Region’s security agency, the security forces in Sulaimani, Garmian, West Sulaimani, Sharazur and Raparin detained all the 22 terrorists … before they carried out their intentions to destroy the lives of people,” the security agency said.
The Kurdish security forces have detained dozens of ISIS suspects in the past months.
The federal government announced victory over ISIS by the end of 2017 after Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led Coalition regained control of areas once captured by the militant group.
Despite its defeat, ISIS still poses a threat to the security and stability of the country as there are still sleeper cells in Iraq.
