Iraq nabs 6 Daesh/ISIS militants coming from Syria

BAGHDAD

Iraqi security forces arrested six militants from the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group while attempting to cross border from Syria into Iraq, according to the country’s interior ministry on Tuesday.

A ministry statement said the militants were ambushed in Rabi'a district, north of Nineveh province in northern Iraq.

The ministry said one of the captured militants had fled from prison in Nineveh, without giving any further details.

Iraq shares 1,000-kilometer borders with Syria, where the Daesh/ISIS and PKK terror groups having active presence.

In June 2014, the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group captured Mosul, Salahuddin and Anbar provinces and parts of Diyala and Kirkuk, which were recaptured from the group in late 2017 by the Iraqi forces with support from a US-led coalition.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara