SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Security forces in Sulaimani announced the arrest of two ISIS groups that were planning to carry out acts of terrorism in order to cause instability in the Kurdistan Region. One of the groups is all-female and was tasked with social media propaganda for the extremist group in the Kurdistan Region.
The arrests were carried out in July and August last year, but the inquiry into the groups took about 100 days, Sulaimani Asayesh, Kurdish security forces, said in a statement on Monday.
The Asayesh also published video testimonies of those arrested.
According to the security forces, the groups coordinated their activities through two ISIS leaders such that the all-female group was assigned to social media propaganda and the male group had to buy weapons and prepare for attacks in the Kurdistan Region.
Four women were arrested, three of whom are married and have children. The fourth is 28-years old and has a BA. In their video testimony, almost all said they were recruited through social media and were asked to relocate to ISIS-controlled areas, a demand they refused, mainly because of their family ties. They all spoke in Kurdish.
There was an Arab man among the five men arrested. They were tasked with preparing for an armed attack in a crowded place such as a celebration in the Kurdistan Region.
Combatting ISIS has become more difficult, the Asayesh stated, as they have to address the radical group’s ideology as well as confronting its armed threat.
All nine arrested admitted to being a member of ISIS. They come from various Kurdish cities and their arrests were based on a warrant from a judge, the Asayesh confirmed.
There was a sixth man whom the Asayesh said was a legal arms trader who “unknowingly” sold weapons to the men’s group without informing the security authorities.
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