Fifteen "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) elements have been arrested in Mosul thanks to reports from local residents, the Ninawa province police command said on Tuesday (February 27th).

Police forces on Monday carried out raids on a number of areas in the city of Mosul and its outskirts, police commander Brig. Gen. Hamad Namis al-Jubury told Diyaruna.

The raids resulted in the arrest of 15 men who were wanted for trial and for whom arrest warrants had been issued for various charges, including belonging to ISIS and committing terror crimes.

All the detained suspects are Iraqi Mosul residents who had been hiding in residential neighbourhoods, al-Jubury said.

The arrests were based on highly accurate intelligence reports provided by local residents, he said.

"The co-operation of the local population is endless," he said. "They are providing us with information about the terrorists' hiding places and movements."

The hotlines set up for reporting any suspicious persons to the police, and which are distributed among 40 units under the Ninawa police command, receive many calls every day from citizens reporting they have seen or heard about terror elements hiding in a certain location.

After receiving such reports, al-Jubury said, police forces rush to the location and arrest the wanted individuals in "sudden, quality attacks".

Ninawa 'secure'

Investigations and tracking operations of remaining ISIS elements are ongoing, he said, noting that in addition to the support provided by citizens, "there are many confidential sources providing the police with reliable intelligence information".

He stressed that the work of police forces and other security services has contributed to securing all of the province's cities against terror threats.

"Ninawa is currently one of the most secure Iraqi provinces," he said.

"The situation is completely stable and we have not seen any terror incidents for several months, except for some criminal incidents such as theft and brawls," he added.

"This is a positive development that pushes us to work to achieve more security," he said.