“The heroes of the [Iraqi] Counter-Terrorism Service [ICTS] were able to arrest one of the most dangerous terrorists in the capital, Baghdad, against whom an arrest warrant was issued by the Service’s judge,” the ICTS said in a statement.
He held numerous positions within ISIS, including as a military commander in the group’s so-called “Southern Province,” a member of the “Islamic Police” in Nineveh, and a leadership position in the group’s “Nahawand Division,” according to the ICTS.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi land in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.”
The group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, but it continued to pose security risks through hit-and-run attacks, kidnappings, and bombings, particularly in a vast stretch of land disputed between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which includes parts of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin.
Despite the threats, Iraqi authorities stress that attacks by ISIS have largely simmered down.
Thousands of people have been detained across Iraq since 2014 for suspected links to extremist groups, including ISIS, and hundreds have been executed.
