Spanish
Iraq announced this Thursday the arrest of two alleged members of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria in an operation in coordination with the authorities of Damascus and the International Coalition against IS, led by the United States, official sources reported.
In a statement, Iraqi security authorities indicated that the Joint Operations Command carried out an operation against ISIS in northeastern Syria, which resulted in the arrest of "two important targets wanted by the Iraqi justice system".
The Iraqi Armed Forces and military intelligence carried out the operation, "in coordination with Syrian security forces and with the technical support of the International Coalition," the note added.
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"An operation targeting two important objectives sought by the Iraqi justice system was successfully carried out in northeastern Syria, within Syrian territory, and they were arrested," the authorities added, without giving details of the exact location.
Likewise, the note praised these operations for "strengthening the capacity of nations to confront cross-border security challenges and protect national interests".
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, for its part, reported that "two US cargo planes landed" at the Kharab al Jir military base, in the Al Hasaka countryside (northeast), and were carrying "rocket launchers, heavy weaponry, military vehicles and US soldiers".
"This coincided with intense flights by the International Coalition's aviation over the area," he indicated, but made no reference to the arrest of the alleged jihadists.
The arrest occurs while Syria is suffering a small resurgence of attacks claimed by ISIS, and within the framework of joint security efforts between both countries to pursue remnants of the terrorist group.
The organization was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, after having controlled large areas of the country since 2014, but its remnants are still carrying out attacks, especially against Iraqi security forces and particularly on the border with Syria and the north and center of the country.
Islamic State was defeated in Syria in 2019, although there have been several warnings that the threat of the terrorist organization is still latent in several points of the Syrian central desert, which extends through several provinces of the country.
