ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish security forces on Monday detained a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) emir and another member of the group during a raid in the city of Halabja, an operation that left one security member injured, a senior security official told Rudaw.
The arrests took place during a sweep targeting three wanted ISIS members in a Halabja neighborhood. One suspect managed to flee and remains at large, according to the official from the Sulaimani Asayish Operations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Security forces had prior intelligence about the presence of the ISIS sleeper cell, the official added.
Clashes erupted when the militants refused to surrender, wounding one security personnel. The confrontation occurred at around 8 pm, according to information obtained by Rudaw. The detained suspects hail from Halabja province.
ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, but remnants of the group have reverted to insurgency tactics - including ambushes, abductions, assassinations of suspected informants, extortion, and bomb attacks.
Although ISIS activity today is concentrated in disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, particularly Salahaddin, Diyala, and Kirkuk, the Kurdistan Region still faces occasional security threats from sleeper cells.