The arrests were made based on information and precise monitoring of the suspects' movements, according to the announcement from the Asayesh (security forces) of Garmiyan region in southern Sulaimani province.
The first arrest was made by the Garmiyan Asayesh on July 13 in the town of Sarqala. The second was made in coordination between Garmiyan Asayesh and Sulaimani Asayesh Operation Forces in the same region.
A third suspect was detained in Raniya and the final arrest took place on July 20 in Sarqala.
The ISIS suspects have "confessed to committing many crimes against humanity," according to the Garmiyan Asayesh statement.
In excerpts of their confessions that have been made public, two of the men said they fought for ISIS in Uzem, south of Kirkuk, and a third said he fought for the group in Hawija. The fourth said he provided logistic support for ISIS militants in several locations in Iraq.
This is the third such operation reported within the Kurdistan Region this month. Last week counter-terror forces in Erbil captured an ISIS "terrorist" in a raid. Sulaimani Asayesh arrested six suspected ISIS militants in two raids in and around the town of Chamchamal on August 4 and 5.
ISIS emerged in Iraq in 2014 and seized control of a large swathe of land in Iraq and neighbouring Syria. Although it was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017, it has carried out insurgency tactics, including the ambush of security forces, kidnap and execution of suspected informants, and extortion of money from vulnerable rural populations.
