Illustrative image, Illustrative image, source: the official Facebook page of the Iraqi Federal Police
On March 31, Major General Saad Maan, a spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, announced in an official statement that the Iraqi Federal Police (IFP) had arrested eleven members of an ISIS cell during a security operation in the Tell al-Ruman district in the eastern part of the city of Mosul.
The IFP security operation came only three days after an attack of ISIS on a position of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) south of Mosul, in which ten PMU fighters were killed.
Iraqi authorities have neutralized several cells of ISIS since the liberation of the city on July 20, 2017.
On March 6, a cell of 26 ISIS fighters was arrested by the IFP. These efforts have led to an improvement in the security situation in Mosul, which encouraged many displaced locals to return to the city.
The Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displaced revealed on March 31 that during the last few days 425 displaced civilians had returned from the refugee camps in Turkey to their homes in Mosul. The ministry also stressed that it will continue its efforts to facilitate the return of the remaining refugees to Mosul.
Despite of these improvements, local observers believe that more work should be done to end the ISIS influence in the war-torn city and to restore life in it.
Finally some good news from Iraq, although they still seriously need to do something about their prisons.