Kurdish security forces arrest 22 suspected ISIS members in Sulaymaniyah
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Kurdish security forces arrested 22 suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members, including a senior religious leader, during a major security operation in Sulaymaniyah province, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Kurdistan Region Security Agency said on Sunday.
The arrests were carried out over four days by the General Directorate of Asayish Operations, in coordination with security forces in Sulaymaniyah and Halabja provinces, according to the agency.
The operation targeted two armed ISIS cells and several suspected clandestine members of the group. Security forces seized heavy, medium and light weapons, hand grenades, military binoculars and ammunition, the agency said.
The suspects were allegedly planning to carry out several attacks in mid-September.
An ISIS “sharia emir” was arrested in Khurmal, southeast of Sulaymaniyah city, late Saturday following an armed confrontation, the agency said. Gunfire erupted during the arrest, but no casualties were reported.
The agency said all 22 detainees are Kurdish and that investigations remain ongoing. It added that evidence and confessions would be made public at a later stage.
Separately, Iraqi F-16 fighter jets struck and destroyed an ISIS hideout in the Narin area of Diyala province, Iraq’s Security Media Cell said. No casualties were immediately reported.
ISIS seized large areas of Iraq in 2014 before being territorially defeated in 2017. The group has since relied largely on sleeper cells and insurgent attacks, particularly in disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil.