Military intelligence forces “carried out several preemptive operations in various areas of the Anbar, Nineveh, and Maysan province,” state media reported, in which “eight suspects were arrested who belong to ISIS terrorist gangs.”
They were arrested under Article Four of the Counter-Terrorism Law of 2005, which says that anyone found guilty of committing a terror offense is given a death sentence, with life imprisonment given to those who assist or hide those convicted of terrorism.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
Iraqi security forces have intensified their operations against ISIS cells in recent months, particularly in areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil which stretch across the Kirkuk, Salahaddin, Nineveh, and Diyala provinces.
Iraq’s air force also frequently carries out airstrikes against ISIS hideouts in the disputed territories.
In late February, the head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell told Rudaw that Iraqi security forces have largely eradicated ISIS from the country, with only a few hundred militants remaining in remote areas.
