“The Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency’s counter-terrorism units in Kirkuk province, in separate operations, arrested three terrorists belonging to the ISIS terrorist gangs,” state media said, citing a statement from the agency.
The arrests are the latest in an ongoing campaign by Baghdad to crack down on ISIS remnants in the country, eight years after the jihadists were declared devoid of territorial control.
“The three terrorists explicitly confessed to their participation in many attacks on Iraqi security forces earlier inside and outside Kirkuk province,” the statement added.
ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.”
The group was territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively, but it continues to pose security risks through hit-and-run attacks, kidnappings, and bombings.
In Iraq, ISIS is particularly active in a vast stretch of land disputed between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which includes parts of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin provinces.
Despite the threats, Iraqi authorities say that attacks by ISIS have largely simmered down. On Wednesday, Iraq’s Security Media Cell chief Saad Maan said that “terrorism has declined significantly, almost to a negligible level, and there are no real security threats.”
