ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's interior ministry on Monday announced the dismantling of 48 local and international human trafficking networks over the past six months, saying dozens of people were rescued before they could be trafficked.
"Monitoring and surveillance operations led to the dismantling of 48 human trafficking networks and the arrest of 1,012 suspects for committing these crimes," Interior Ministry spokesperson Mohammed al-Hassoun told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The ministry, through its Anti-Human Trafficking Directorate, "contributed to liberating and rescuing 94 victims before the crime of trafficking them occurred," he added.
Hassoun said the ministry recorded 1,344 human trafficking cases so far this year, noting that investigations had uncovered local and transnational networks operating through digital platforms, leading to arrests and coordination with international security agencies.
Iraq remains both a source and destination country for human trafficking, with women, children, minorities, displaced people, and other vulnerable groups at heightened risk. The International Organization for Migration reported in November 2024 that modern slavery affects an estimated 221,000 people in the country.
The United States, in its 2025 Trafficking in Persons report, said Iraq does not fully meet the "minimum standards" for the elimination of trafficking but is making "significant efforts" to do so.
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