TEHRAN- Iran’s Minister of Intelligence, on Wednesday, announced the arrest of two ringleaders of the ISIS terrorist group. 

Seyyed Ismail Khatib made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting. “20 criminals—generally considered unauthorized persons and nationals—were identified and arrested.”
 
The Minister of Intelligence emphasized that about 12 of these individuals were mercenaries who had entered the country for sabotage operations. 

“Two ringleaders of the ISIS and other Takfiri groups were identified and arrested during an operation conducted by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence,” he added.

On July 13 Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence officially announced that its anti-terrorism unit had carried out approximately 79 significant operations to identify and arrest terrorists since the beginning of the year.

Since a terrorist attack that ripped through Iran’s southeastern Kerman city early this year, Iranian authorities have ramped up efforts to neutralize individuals linked to terror outfits based in foreign countries. Multiple individuals and groups of coordinated terrorists have been arrested in the past months in various provinces.