By Serhad Shaker

NINEVEH, Iraq 

Iraqi forces rounded up 12 suspected members of the Daesh terrorist group in the northern Nineveh province, according to a local police chief on Monday.

“The militants have been arrested in crackdown campaigns in several areas in Nineveh,” Maj. Gen. Hamad al-Jabouri told Anadolu Agency.

Meanwhile, a local official was shot dead in an attack in the town of al-Ayadia in western Nineveh.

“Gunmen raided the house of the al-Ayadia local chief and killed him,” Maj. Abdel-Rahman al-Hamed said.

He said the local chief’s wife was seriously injured in the attack.

Last year, Iraqi officials declared that Daesh's military presence in the country had been neutralized following a three-year conflict with the army backed by the U.S.-led coalition.

Nevertheless, Iraqi forces continue to carry out frequent operations with the aim of decisively ending the group’s lingering presence.