Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region – The Asayish, Kurdish security forces, announced on Sunday the arrest of five individuals on terror-related charges. One of the suspects was allegedly operating an improvised explosive device (IED) factory.

According to a statement by the Asayish, all five suspects have a history of criminal activities and were previously sought by Iraqi courts. The arrests were made during separate operations conducted between May 15 and May 20. The Asayish did not disclose the specific groups or organizations the suspects were affiliated with.

This year, Kurdish security forces have arrested several individuals suspected of being members of the Islamic State (ISIS). Earlier this month, Soqrat Khalil Ismail, who was reportedly responsible for ISIS's explosives and played a significant role in the 2014 invasion of Mosul, was arrested.

In February, the Asayish detained 30 ISIS suspects accused of spreading extremist ideas on social media. Additionally, in a five-month long operation culminating in November, 55 ISIS suspects, including three emirs, were apprehended in Sulaimani.

Despite being declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, ISIS continues to conduct bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across various provinces. Since 2014, thousands of people have been detained across Iraq for suspected links to terrorist groups, including ISIS, with hundreds executed.