Shafaq News– Baghdad

Iraq arrested 16 people on terrorism charges across the country in January, the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) said on Saturday.

In a statement, the INSS explained that its operations during the month led to the arrest of 137 suspects in total, including 34 drug traffickers and dealers, and 87 people accused of extortion and threats.

On January 28, Iraq’s Counterterrorism Service arrested two ISIS-linked suspects in Al-Anbar province. In 2025, Iraqi security agencies carried out more than 320 counterterrorism operations, resulting in dozens of terrorism arrests and the dismantling of hundreds of militant sites, according to official data.

Although ISIS lost territorial control in Iraq in 2017, its sleeper cells remain a key security concern. The United States has begun transferring high-risk ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraqi facilities for prosecution, with up to 7,000 suspects expected to be moved after Syrian government forces took control of detention sites previously held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces earlier this month.

Read more: On ISIS defeat anniversary, Iraq confronts a reawakening insurgency