ISIS in desperate bid to return to Iraqi stage

Aya Ezz

The members of the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fight tooth and nail to return to the Iraqi stage, especially in the northern province of Saladin.

Iraqi authorities succeeded in arresting a large network of ISIS terrorists in Saladin in the past few days.

The terrorist organization, the authorities said, succeeded in carrying out a number of attacks in the province, along with looting operations.

Noticeable activity

According to Iraqi Army Spokesman, Yahia Rasoul, Iraqi counterterrorism forces had succeeded in arresting a terrorist in Saladin who possessed firearms and a number of mobile phone chips.

The forces also arrested another terrorist in Tikrit, Rasoul said.

There is a noticeable increase in ISIS activities in Saladin during the past few weeks, according to Iraqi media.

Desperate moves

The British newspaper, Times, ran a report recently, in which it said ISIS is not dead in Iraq yet.

The terrorist organization continues to be strong in Iraq, even as it was defeated in it, the newspaper said.

It noted that ISIS had managed to regroup as a major terrorist network, not only in Iraq, but also across the whole world.

The newspaper added that ISIS used to control an area the size of the UK in Iraq. It said the terrorist organization used to have 33,000 fighters when it controlled this area in Iraq almost three years ago.

ISIS continues to possess almost a third of this number of fighters, the newspaper said.

It said ISIS had succeeded in drawing in new recruits from all countries.

ISIS continues to possess huge financial capabilities in Iraq, which makes it able to live for years, stage attacks and maintain the training of its fighters, the newspaper said.

Secret network

The United Nations has warned against the ability of ISIS to regroup and recapture the areas it lost in the past years.

In a report, the UN added that ISIS prepares to turn from a semi-military state to a secret network.

The organization views Iraq as its homeland, the UN said in its report.