SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi counter-terrorism forces arrested an Islamic State (ISIS) leader in coordination with security forces in Sulaimani province, a military spokesman said on Monday.
Yehia Rasool, spokesman for commander-in-chief of the armed forces Mustafa al-Kadhimi, said the ISIS leader was arrested in a “qualitative process based on accurate information, solid follow-up and joint coordination with the Asayish of Sulaimani governorate”.
“The criminal terrorist leader (W.F.) holds a leadership position in ISIS terrorist gangs,” Rasool said in a tweet.
“The counter-terrorism service will announce more painful strikes against ISIS gangs … in the coming days,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, the counter-terrorism service said its forces had detained an ISIS militant codenamed Abu Nabaa at Baghdad international airport.
Iraqi National Intelligence Service said on Saturday that it had arrested a senior ISIS member in an ambush in Dora district in southern Baghdad.
Recently, Iraqi forces have stepped up efforts to detain ISIS militants in the provinces of Kirkuk, Saladin, Nineveh, Anbar and Baghdad. The security forces have detained and killed dozens of ISIS members in the past weeks.
Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December 2017 but the militants have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range which extends into the northern provinces – an area described by officials as a “triangle of death”.
