Shafaq News- Baghdad (Updated at 16:00)

Iraq’s Ministry of Justice on Wednesday denied reports that mobile phones were seized from ISIS detainees recently transferred from Syria to Al-Karkh Prison who were allegedly planning a “Ramadan raid,” clarifying that the devices belonged to Iraqi inmates serving sentences unrelated to the group.

Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Laibi told Shafaq News that the phones were confiscated during routine inspections at the facility in Baghdad and that those involved had no ISIS affiliation, noting that the justice minister formed an investigative committee and referred prison staff for questioning, with disciplinary action pending the findings. Laibi also dismissed allegations of a planned attack as unfounded.

The clarification followed a Facebook post by MP Mohammed Al-Shammari, claiming that security forces had uncovered an ISIS “operations room” inside the prison and seized 111 phones, alleging preparations for an assault and an escape plan concealed within an air-conditioning unit.

ISIS previously used the term “raid” to describe coordinated attacks, including bombings and suicide operations during Ramadan. Although it lost territorial control in 2017, the group remains active as an insurgent network in rural and desert areas such as Diyala, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Al-Anbar. The Joint Operations Command reports that counterterrorism operations in 2025 have killed more than 90 militants, including senior figures.

Read more: ISIS detainee transfers test Iraq’s post-Coalition security