8 Daesh/ISIS militants captured in Iraq raids

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) – Iraqi army forces captured eight militants from the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group on Wednesday, according to the military.

In a statement, military spokesman Yehia Rasool said two militants were arrested in the capital Baghdad and four others in raids in the provinces of Anbar, Salahuddin, Kirkuk, and Diyala.

Two more militants were nabbed in the northern province of Sulaymaniyah in an operation coordinated with Kurdish Peshmerga forces, he added.

Attacks blamed on Daesh/ISIS militants have escalated in Iraq in recent months, especially in the provinces of Salahuddin, Diyala, and Kirkuk.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh/ISIS by reclaiming all of its territories – about a third of the country’s area – invaded by the terror group in 2014.

But the terrorist group still maintains sleeper cells in large areas of Iraq and periodically launches attacks. The Iraqi army continues to carry out frequent operations against the group in parts of the country.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar