Iraqi forces announce arrest of ‘one of most dangerous’ Islamic State leaders in Nineveh

September 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Iraqi security forces have announced the arrest of “one of the most dangerous” senior Islamic State figures in the northern province of Nineveh, in what the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) have described as “a qualitative achievement” against the jihadist group.

The PMF, a coalition of militias — some of them backed by Iran — integrated into Iraq’s security forces, said in a statement that the detainee is “one of the most dangerous leaders of what remains of the Islamic State,” before claiming that the suspect “participated in many terrorist operations” in the province.

“Legal measures have been taken to ensure that this terrorist receives his just punishment for the crimes he committed,” they stressed, adding that the arrest is part of operations against jihadists throughout the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani said last week that the jihadist group “no longer poses a threat” to the country and argued that the cells present in its territory are “isolated groups” that have been cornered by security forces operations.

The jihadist group has several hundred fighters spread across several mobile cells within Iraqi territory, where it has carried out several attacks in recent months, despite the territorial defeat of its “caliphate” and the operations carried out by the security forces.

In fact, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) acknowledged in July that the group is reconstituting itself in Iraq and Syria and that it is regaining its lost capacity after the disappearance of the ‘caliphate’. In this regard, it said that Islamic State had carried out more than 150 attacks in these two countries between January and June, so it could double the number of attacks in 2023 if it maintains the pace for the rest of the year.