By Serhad Shakir
NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) – At least 14 members of the Daesh terrorist group were arrested in a security sweep carried out across Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, according to a statement released by the Iraqi army.
The arrests, the army said, were based on intelligence reports indicating that Daesh terrorists were holed up in a village near Nineveh’s Badush region.
The sweep was carried out by a joint force including security personnel and the Hashd al-Shaabi (a largely Shia fighting force affiliated with the Iraqi army), along with intelligence officers associated with the Iraqi Defense Ministry.
According to the army, the 14 arrested individuals had been part of a Daesh “sleeper cell”, members of which had fought the Iraqi army during the country’s three-year conflict with the terrorist group (2014-2017).
Arrest warrants had reportedly been issued earlier for the 14 wanted individuals, who have since been referred to the relevant authorities for prosecution.
After the Iraqi army recaptured the city of Mosul (which Daesh had declared its regional “capital”) late last year, officials in Baghdad had said that the group’s military presence in the country had been all but destroyed.
Nevertheless, the army continues to mount sporadic operations against the group’s lingering presence in northern Iraq.
