Iraqi forces have begun removing internal security checkpoints from a number of streets in the capital Baghdad, in a move that experts see as a sign of improved capabilities and intelligence work.

Dozens of security checkpoints have been deployed in Baghdad over the years, manned by soldiers or police, in an effort to prevent attacks carried out by extremist groups such as the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL).

In addition to disturbing traffic, these checkpoints have failed to put an end to attacks in the capital, experts said.

The Baghdad Operations Command recently began to remove security checkpoints from a number of the city's main streets, 6th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Ahmed Salim told Diyaruna.

"The 6th Infantry Division, which operates within the Baghdad Operations Command, has so far removed more than 25 security checkpoints from select locations in the capital, turning them into temporary security positions or doing away with them altogether," he said.

More than 75 main and side streets also have been re-opened, he said, noting that these steps were based on a detailed study of the security situation in those areas.

Security forces in the coming period will focus instead on intelligence in order to tackle violent extremist groups and curb criminal attacks, Salim said.

Improved intelligence

Operations based on intelligence have thwarted numerous terror attacks in the capital and saved many lives, Joint Operations Command spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasul told Diyaruna.

"The most prominent pre-emptive intelligence operation recently has been the foiling of an attempt by ISIL to detonate a truck bomb in the Baghdad area of al-Kadhimiya during a religious visit to al-Imamain al-Jawadain shrine," he said.

"Military intelligence directorate forces managed, through reliable sources, to reach the location of the bomb-laden truck," Rasul said.

An intelligence unit secured the area -- a parking lot in al-Dora in southern Baghdad -- and arrested the driver, he said, while the Baghdad Operations Command's engineering teams defused the explosive materials.

Police interrogation of the driver led to the arrest of the network behind the planned attack, Rasul said, noting that they tracked down the would-be suicide bomber and killed him during a shootout.

In another security operation, a force from the military intelligence directorate captured a truck in Diyala province that had been modified in order to transport weapons and explosives to Baghdad, Rasul added.

The truck was laden with a large quantity of mortar shells, rockets and explosive belts, he said.

Support for checkpoints removal

Baghdad provincial council security committee member Saad al-Matlibi told Diyaruna he supports the decision to remove security checkpoints in Baghdad.

There are more than 170 checkpoints throughout the capital, he said, including main checkpoints in the centre of the city and others in its suburbs.

"Focus should be laid on inspections at the entrances to the capital rather than deploying checkpoints inside it," he said.