Security forces from Iraq’s Military Intelligence Directorate “carried out several preemptive operations in various provinces of the country based on accurate intelligence information … which resulted in the arrest of 7 terrorists,” the state Iraqi News Agency cited the directorate as saying.
They were arrested under Article Four of the Counter-Terrorism Law of 2005, according to the statement.
The article states that anyone found guilty of committing a terror offense is given a death sentence, with life imprisonment given to those who assist or hide those convicted of terrorism.
ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.”
The group was territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively, but it continues to pose security risks through hit-and-run attacks, kidnappings, and bombings.
In Iraq, ISIS is particularly active in a vast stretch of land disputed between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which includes parts of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin provinces.
Despite the threats, Iraqi authorities stress that attacks by ISIS have largely simmered down.
On Friday, Iraqi security forces arrested a “female terrorist” in charge of distributing bail for ISIS members in Salahaddin province.
A day prior, five ISIS members were nabbed in separate security operations in Nineveh, Anbar, and Maysan.
