Iraq obtains intelligence on ISIL from ex-troops in Mosul: MP

A senior Iraqi MP says “sleeper cells” made up of the nation’s former military and police officers are tipping off Iraqi authorities to positions of ISIL Takfiri terrorists in the northern city of Mosul.

“Those patriotic groups, some operate from inside the city of Mosul and others from the areas surrounding it, are now giving us information about the military preparations being made by ISIL in order to face any attack by government forces to retake the city,” said the head of Iraqi parliamentary committee on security and defense, Hakim al-Zamili, cited in an AP report on Monday.

According to the report, the remarks reflect the first high-level confirmation of the groups’ existence following weeks of rumors about such informants.

“We receive a lot of useful information from Mosulis who are becoming fed up with the militants and this is the reason why the ISIL blocked all mobile phone networks in the city,” Zamili added.

According to the Iraqi lawmaker, their information then gets passed to Iraqi military commanders in charge of airstrikes and military operations in Ninevah province.

Their work, however, remains extremely risky as the ISIL Takfiri terrorists have shut down mobile phone networks and execute suspected government collaborators on a regular basis.

The Takfiri terrorists captured Mosul in August when they led an offensive across northern Iraq.

At the time many Iraqi troops and police officers dropped their weapons and fled the scene during the terror group’s initial offensive, said the Iraqi MP.

He added, however, that now some of the ex-officers have begun spying on behalf of the Iraqi government.