Iraqi counter-terrorism services arrested three ISIS suspects in Anbar and caught two others in Kirkuk, Iraq’s top military spokesperson Yehia Rasool said.
The forces also “brought in” two other suspects affiliated to the group with the assistance of the Kurdistan Region’s counter-terrorism directorate, Rasool added, without disclosing further details.
ISIS seized control of swathes of land in Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
The counter-terror forces have also arrested a prominent ISIS leader, according to Rasool, saying the forces would share more information regarding the figure in the near future.
ISIS remnants are particularly active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin.
The terror group claimed responsibility for an attack on a village in southern Kirkuk, saying they have killed at least three civilians and injured four others.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces often launch joint security operations to arrest ISIS suspects.
In mid-March, the Iraqi forces and Sulaimani security forces arrested two members of the terror group plotting a suicide attack.
Two highly sough-after members were also arrested in Kirkuk in January.
In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted seven attacks in Iraq from March 31 to April 6, killing and injuring 16 people.
