An ISIS member arrested inside a hotel in Baghdad

Iraqi authorities announced on Sunday the arrest of an individual belonging to the Islamic State (ISIS) group in a hotel in Baghdad. 

It was revealed that his mission was to gather "information" about security forces, according to a statement from the Intelligence and Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Interior.

Despite the Iraqi authorities declaring their "victory" over the extremist organization at the end of 2017, jihadist cells continue to sporadically attack army and police personnel, particularly in rural and remote areas outside major cities.

The man was arrested "in a hotel in Baghdad" on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, in the Rissafa district, as per the official statement by the Intelligence and Investigation Agency.

The statement noted that the aforementioned person was arrested "based on accurate intelligence received by the Intelligence Agency's special units responsible for securing tourist sites. 

The intelligence indicated the presence of a wanted individual involved in terrorist cases, primarily providing information about security personnel to the terrorist Daesh gangs."

The statement further elaborated that during the interrogation of the detainee, it was revealed that he had been "assigned to provide personal information about security personnel within Nineveh province" and its capital city, Mosul. It was mentioned that he confessed to his affiliation with "the terrorist Daesh gangs."

The statement did not disclose the identity of the detainee nor the name of the hotel where he was apprehended.

The Islamic State seized vast territories in Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. However, the group was defeated in both countries in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

A senior Iraqi military official confirmed in March of last year that the Islamic State still had between 400 to 500 active fighters in Iraq.

A report by the United Nations released in July stated that "the counter-terrorism operations carried out by Iraqi forces have continued to curtail ISIS activities, though the group has maintained a low-level insurgency."

The report added that jihadist operations "have been limited to rural areas, with attacks in urban centers being less frequent."

According to the report, the core structure of "ISIS still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 individuals throughout Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, the majority of who are fighters."



AFP