Two prominent ISIS suspects were apprehended in an operation on September 9, leading to the capture of several more suspects, Sulaimani Asayesh said in a statement.
“After the increase of ISIS movements in Kirkuk and Diyala provinces, the Kurdistan Region Security Agency/Sulaimani Asayesh started to build a strong military fence and formed a joint investigating and follow-up center to monitor the security situation of Sulaimani and other cities and towns of the Kurdistan Region,” the statement read.
ISIS militants had reorganized themselves outside the borders of the Kurdistan Region and were plotting to send attackers and suicide bombers into the Region, Kirkuk, and Diyala outlying areas, it said.
“The Sulaimani Asayesh continued its follow-ups and thus obtained more precise information on the influential terrorist Haji Masab who was leading the group of ISIS jihadists,” the statement read.
“The group had created a wide network of terrorists in Kirkuk and Diyala supervised by both terrorists Abu Huraira and Abu Mujahid.”
“Together with Abu Fatih and Abu Saif, they were bringing terrorists from other parts of Iraq to Kirkuk and Diyala in order to destabilize their security,” it added.
Sulaimani security forces were ordered to track down the wanted men – capturing two of them when they entered the Kurdistan Region.
“They were captured in an ambush,” said Sulaimani Asayesh.
With their arrest, security forces were able to glean further intelligence, leading to the arrest of more suspects accused of plotting attacks in Sulaimani.
“With continued monitoring and more precise investigation of new ISIS plots, stronger plans were set up to deter any plots to destabilize the security of the Kurdistan Region. ISIS sleeper cells present in the Kurdistan Region were also discovered and were arrested in some raids,” it said.
“Some other suspects, mercenaries and smugglers who had been directly and indirectly involved in assisting the ISIS terrorists were also captured.”
The Kurdistan Region has been largely spared the kind of attacks, bombings and kidnappings taking place in Kirkuk, Diyala, Saladin, Anbar and Nineveh.
Although Baghdad declared the defeat of ISIS in December 2017, remnants of the group and sleeper cells have been able to take advantage of security gaps between territories controlled by the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi security forces.
There are fears these cells could make a comeback unless security collaboration improves.
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