ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Coordination between the Iraqi counter-terrorism service (CTS) and the Kurdistan Region's counter-terrorism units has resulted in the arrest of at least 21 “high-profile” terrorists since the start of the year, the spokesperson for the Iraqi CTS told Rudaw on Saturday, adding that he disagrees with the notion that there has been an increase in Islamic State (ISIS) activities in the country. “Since the start of the year to this day, more than 21 high-profile members of terrorist organizations have been arrested through this coordination and intelligence cooperation between the [Iraqi] counter-terrorism service and the Sulaimani and Erbil counter-terrorism,” Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the Iraqi CTS told Rudaw’s Rozhan Abubakir. The services have cooperated together on more than 10 missions this year, according to Numan, adding that the arrestees were captured in the provinces of Sulaimani and Erbil, and were mostly Iraqi nationals. The spokesperson disagreed with the claim that there has been a spike in ISIS operations in recent months, stating that the militant group has been conducting “small” operations in areas far from the centers of the cities in ways that do not threaten the security of the country “according to our assessment.” In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 12 attacks in Iraq from June 1 to June 7, killing and injuring 16 people. Numan also addressed the recent drone attack on Erbil, stating that although the incident falls outside the mission of the CTS and their focus remains on tracking down organized terrorism, the service “rejects” all similar offensives in both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, adding that the work of the committee tasked with investigating the recent attack will “of course” lead to identifying the perpetrators. An explosive-laden drone hit a road in northeast Erbil city late Wednesday, injuring three people.
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