ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi counter-terror forces arrested two people accused of terrorism in separate operations in northern Iraq, security forces announced on Sunday. In the south, the forces also arrested alleged drug traffickers.
“Our [counter-terrorism service] units in the northern areas carried out two operations that resulted in the arrest of two terrorists in the governorates of Nineveh and Kirkuk,” the Security Media Cell announced in a statement on X.
The statement did not detail what organizations the two are suspected of working for. Nineveh and Kirkuk both have territory that lies in the disputed areas between the federal and regional governments. Islamic State (ISIS) militants are known to take advantage of a security vacuum in these areas.
According to the statement, the units also carried out two operations that resulted in the arrest of suspected drug traffickers in Basra and Dhi Qar provinces in the south of the country. The suspects were handed over to the Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs of each governorate.
There has been an alarming rise in drug trafficking and use in Iraq in recent years, despite strict measures taken by the Iraqi government to curb the phenomenon.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combating growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.
In 2023, more than 19,000 people were arrested across Iraq on drug-related charges, and over 15 tons of psychotropic substances were seized.
