After Mosul, jihadist threat to Iraq will grow - Kurdish intelligence official

Members of the security forces stand guard in front of the My Fair Lady restaurant in Mosul, Iraq, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - If Islamic State is driven from its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, it will switch tactics to wage an insurgency from mountains and deserts, a top Kurdish intelligence official has told Reuters.

Lahur Talabany, a senior figure in Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism efforts, also expressed concerns that another group similar to the Sunni Muslim Islamic State could emerge to menace Iraq again if political leaders fail to secure reconciliation between sects.