SLEMANI — The Kurdistan Region Security Agency (Asayish) has arrested seven former ISIS militants in and around Slemani who were wanted by Iraqi courts under Article 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, the agency said on Tuesday.
The General Directorate of Operations of the Kurdistan Region Security Agency said the arrests were carried out in a “precise operation” based on intelligence information. The suspects, who had previously been armed members of ISIS, were allegedly hiding in the Kurdistan Region before being identified and detained by Asayish forces.
According to an official statement, all seven suspects were wanted by Iraqi judicial authorities. Following their arrest, they were handed over to the relevant federal government authorities on August 18 to complete legal proceedings and investigations.
The agency said the suspects would be processed according to the jurisdiction of the areas where the crimes they are accused of committing took place.
The arrests come after a separate operation on July 7, when the Kurdistan Region Security Agency detained three alleged ISIS members in Slemani and Kirkuk. Authorities said the three had been using 10 social media pages to spread extremist ideology and encourage young people to join ISIS.
The three suspects were detained after an attempt to flee failed and remain under investigation under Article 2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law.
The latest operation underscores the continued security efforts by Kurdish authorities to identify and detain individuals suspected of maintaining links to ISIS or promoting the group’s ideology in the Kurdistan Region.
