Al-Saaedi: We are to establish an international center in Baghdad specialized in countering terrorism

INA-  BAGHDAD

The head of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service ICTS, Lieutenant General Abdul-Wahhab Al-Saaedi, confirmed Thursday, that there is a tendency to establish an international center in Baghdad specialized in combating terrorism, while revealing the numbers of terrorists who were killed and arrested within two years.

Al-Saaedi said in a meeting within the activities of Al-Rafidain Forum and attended by the reporter of the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The ICTS has achieved many goals and duties during the past two years, as it carried out duties and arrested 647 terrorists, while the death toll reached 232 terrorists," noting that "we carried out with the coalition forces, 710 sorties, during which we destroyed 500 dens."

He added, "We are discussing the establishment of an international center in Baghdad specialized in countering terrorism," noting that "we have the Anti-Terrorism Academy to train security services, and we also have cooperation with the international coalition to provide us with modern equipment, as well as we have an intelligence directorate and centers, and we have information and coordination with the other agencies."

He added, "ICTS ranked second in the world after it was in the 17th place globally," noting that "the essence of military operations is intelligence, and we did not allow any affiliate to interfere in the political aspect."

He stated that "the battle of Mosul was more humanitarian than military because there were civilians in it, so the battle was tough because the terrorists were using civilians as a front,” stressing that "ICTS duties continue, and this morning we launched an operation in the Badoush area of Mosul.”

He explained that "ICTS is the least security institution in terms of number and budget,” noting that "The budget affects our work because we need modern devices and weapons.”

Concerning the cooperation with the Kurdistan region, Al-Saadi indicated that "the cooperation with the Kurdistan region in the past was not at the required level, but now the cooperation with Erbil and Sulaymaniyah is excellent," stressing that "70 terrorists who were present in the region were arrested with forged documents."