Five terror suspects captured in Nineveh

NINEVEH — Iraq’s Military Intelligence and Security Division said Thursday it arrested five people wanted on terrorism charges during operations in Nineveh governorate.

In a statement, the division said the suspects were detained in coordinated ambushes based on intelligence efforts. They are wanted under Article 4/1 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and were handed over to the relevant authorities.

ISIS declared a so-called caliphate in 2014, capturing major Iraqi cities including Mosul and Tikrit, before being ousted by Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga, and a U.S.-led coalition in 2017. Its last Syrian stronghold fell in 2019, but cells remain active in rural and desert areas.

On Sept. 9, Iraqi military intelligence said it destroyed five hideouts used by ISIS militants in the Wadi al-Aghri area of the Anbar desert. In August, Iraqi officials said ISIS no longer poses a strategic threat inside the country, crediting daily security sweeps and intelligence operations.