CTG Forces Arrest Suspected ISIS Member in Sulaymaniyah

CTG's Media Office

The suspected terrorist arrested by the CTG, with CTG personnel in the background.

The Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) announced the arrest of a suspected member of the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organisation in the Bayinjan area of Sulaymaniyah, following detailed intelligence gathering and continuous surveillance.

In a statement, the CTG identified the suspect as Hakm Radam Mohammed al-Rafi’i, also known as Abu al-Hakm, from Saladin province. He was reportedly a member of ISIS and moved to Sulaymaniyah province after the organisation’s territorial defeat, settling in Bayinjan.

The directorate added that an arrest warrant had been issued against him by the Nineveh Investigation Court under Article 4 of the Terrorism Law.

ISIS captured large parts of Iraq in 2014 and declared a self-styled “caliphate,” leading to widespread violence and mass displacement. Although Iraq declared victory over the group in 2017, ISIS remnants remain active, particularly in disputed territories between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Iraqi and Kurdish security forces regularly carry out joint operations aimed at eradicating these remaining terrorist networks.

Last week, the Kurdistan Region’s Security Agency (Asayish) announced the dismantling of armed cell affiliated with ISIS’s so-called Kurdistan Wilaya and the arrest of 22 members of the group.

The 22 arrests were carried out in coordination with the Halabja's Asayish Directorate across Sulaymaniyah, Halabja, Penjwen, Khurmal and Sirwan, an Asayish statement said.



PUKMEDIA