Iraqi Security Forces Arrest ISIS Cell Plotting Attacks on Shia Pilgrims

Wikipedia

Karbala during Arba’in pilgrimage.

The Karbala Investigation Court announced on Sunday, 10 August 2025, the arrest of a terrorist network affiliated with the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) that had been plotting attacks on pilgrims taking part in the Arba’in pilgrimage.

According to a statement from Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, the operation was carried out under the direct supervision of the Karbala Investigation Court judge, with the Falcons Intelligence Cell executing the arrests.

The statement said that total of 23 suspects — including one woman — were detained on terrorism charges in operations across the southern provinces, the Middle Euphrates, and Baghdad. Their confessions have been judicially confirmed.

Investigations revealed that the network had planned multiple attacks. The first involved manufacturing and planting explosive devices along southern routes used by pilgrims. The second plot sought to contaminate food served to pilgrims with lethal poisons — a plan allegedly overseen by a student in the Department of Anaesthesia — alongside setting fire to service processions.

The statement added that ISIS employed various recruitment methods, beginning with indoctrination through extremist literature and propaganda. Recruits were then integrated into groups receiving distorted religious instruction from specially trained clerics, before being compelled to pledge allegiance to the group’s leadership.

The Supreme Judicial Council urged parents to monitor their children’s online activity, watch for changes in behaviour or ideology, and report any suspicious signs to security authorities. It also warned procession organisers and Husayniya custodians to deny unauthorised individuals access to food preparation areas and to maintain strict control over all food and beverage supplies.

In Shia Islam, Arba’in marks forty days after Ashura, which commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali — grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. The ceremonies take place in Karbala, the holy city of the Shia muslims.

ISIS captured large parts of Iraq in 2014 and declared a self-styled “caliphate,” leading to widespread violence and mass displacement. Although Iraq declared victory over the group in 2017, ISIS remnants remain active, particularly in disputed territories between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

These areas — including parts of Kirkuk, Nineveh, Diyala, and Saladin provinces — continue to face threats from ISIS elements who carry out ambushes, kidnappings, and extortion targeting civilians and security personnel. Iraqi and Kurdish security forces regularly conduct joint operations to dismantle these remaining terrorist cells.



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