ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (ICTS) announced on Monday the capture of an Islamic State (ISIS) militant in Nineveh province as part of Baghdad’s ongoing efforts to destroy the extremist group’s networks, as well as the arrest of a drug trafficker in Dhi Qar province.

The captured ISIS member “held a military position and participated in numerous terrorist activities against security forces,” read a statement by the ICTS.

In a separate operation carried out in the remote western areas of Iraq's Anbar province, two ISIS hideouts were destroyed.

"Based on accurate intelligence tracking remnants of the ISIS terrorist gangs, an airdrop operation was carried out in the Anbar desert, north of Rutba,” the statement detailed, adding that "two hideouts containing explosives and an explosive belt were found and destroyed.”

Similar operations are regularly carried out across Iraq, with security forces targeting the group's hideouts and leadership in an ongoing campaign to maintain security and stability.

Despite being territorially defeated in 2017, ISIS militants continue to pose a security threat in Iraq through hit-and-run operations and attacks on remote areas. Iraqi forces have intensified their efforts to eliminate these remnants, especially in provinces like Kirkuk, Anbar, and Nineveh, where ISIS cells remain active.

Drug trafficker arrested

The ICTS detailed in Monday’s statement that in a separate operation, they had successfully apprehended a “drug trafficker.” 

Iraq, with its lengthy borders with Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, has evolved from a transit route in the international drugs trade to a significant drug consumption market.

Iraqi authorities in late March said they had inflicted “heavy losses” on drug traffickers in the country in 2025, arresting over 1,500 local and foreign suspects since the start of the year.

Despite consecutive government cabinet pledges to fight the drug phenomenon in the country and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani having ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers across all Iraqi provinces, the country’s infrastructure remains inadequate in the face of the rapid increase in drug use.
 

Iraqi authorities arrested around 14,500 suspects on drug-related charges in 2024 and issued death sentences for 144 suspected drug traffickers. At least 454 others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment (20 years under Iraqi law), according to official data.