Two arrested in Kirkuk over ISIS slogans

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s intelligence agency announced on Wednesday the arrest of two people for writing Islamic State (ISIS) slogans on the walls of schools in Kirkuk. They allegedly planned to carry out attacks in the province. 

“As part of the ongoing efforts exerted by the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency to eliminate the remaining elements of ISIS terrorist gangs, its specialized counterterrorism units in Kirkuk province carried out a targeted operation that resulted in the arrest of two suspects who had written promotional slogans for ISIS gangs on the walls of one of the province’s schools (unused classrooms), following intelligence and technical surveillance,” said the agency in a statement late Wednesday.

It added that the suspects have “explicitly confessed” that they had been recruited by ISIS on social media and that they were planning to carry out terrorist operations in the provinces in the coming days. 

ISIS seized control of large swathes of territory in Iraq in 2014, but was defeated in 2017 after three years of fierce battles. Despite its defeat, the group continues to threaten security, especially in disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, spanning several provinces including Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh and Salahaddin provinces.

Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) announced earlier this month the arrest of six suspected ISIS members and the destruction of several militant hideouts during coordinated security operations across the country.

Last month, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, Director of Media and Moral Guidance at Iraq’s defense ministry, told Rudaw that ISIS “is dying” and no longer has the capacity to threaten Iraq or the Kurdistan Region.