Kops detain 6 ISIS Turbans near Mosul airport
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces arrested six Islamic militants near western Mosul airport, the police command said on Tuesday, as security continues to clear areas recaptured from the group.
The Federal Police service said in a statement that the six militants were arrested during combing patrols in Bu Sayf region, near Mosul Airport.
Federal Police chief Shaker Jawdat said multiple weapons, including explosive belts, were also seized after the arrest.
Iraqi troops recaptured Bu Sayf region from IS members in February, days after a second phase of operations launched to clear western Mosul from militants.
Observers, however, fear that victory on the military level could not mean a total removal of the group’s threat, and think dormant cells could still destabilize the security situation with lone wolf attacks against civilians and security members. Many militants have also been found hiding among thousands of civilians fleeing the battlefield.
IS still controls a few pockets in Nineveh, Anbar, Salahuddin and Kirkuk, and the Iraqi government is planning to launch further offensives to clear those regions.
4 kops die in bomb attack near market
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Four security personnel were killed as Islamic State attacked troops at a market in western Mosul, a source from Nineveh police was quoted saying.
“Security troops deployed at al-Maash market clashed with IS members who attempted attacking the troops,” Cap. Amir Wathiq told BasNews on Tuesday. “The clashes left four police personnel, including a lieutenant general, killed.”
“The attacking elements ran away to an unknown destination, as security reinforcements arrived and police cordoned off the region,” he added.
On Monday, news reports said four civilians were killed while three others, including two policemen, were wounded as a booby-trapped vehicle exploded in Bab Sinjar market in western Mosul.
Despite declaring victory over IS, the group have reportedly carried out attacks against security forces over the past few days.
ISIS Big Turban arrested in eastern Mosul
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A senior Islamic State leader was arrested while attempting to flee western Mosul to the eastern side of the city, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ministry spokesperson Saad Maan said the forces arrested while crossing from the western side to the east, carrying a fake ID. The apprehended militant had served as the Islamic State’s so-called “tribal affairs bureau for southern Mosul”.
The Iraqi government said it cleared the city of Mosul from Islamic State members earlier this month, ending a three-year occupation by the militant group. Since then, security forces have been combing the recaptured areas for dormant IS cells and for members fleeing among refugee groups. Many have been arrested from refugee convoys over suspicions of affiliation with IS, while others were either apprehended or killed trying to escape between both sides of the city.
The group has lost most of its senior leaders among more than 25.000 members in the U.S.-backed battles, and currently occupies a few pockets in Nineveh, Anbar, Kirkuk and Salahuddin provinces, albeit amid recurrent reports of internal divisions and power disputes among its ranks. The Iraqi government intends to charge at those strongholds in the near future.