Shafaq News - Baghdad

Iraq’s National Security Service (INSS) said on Tuesday it had dismantled a “complex” ISIS cell in Al-Anbar province, western Iraq, following an intelligence operation that lasted more than a year.

INSS spokesperson Arshad Al-Hakim said in a video statement that forces arrested a senior ISIS operative known as Abu Ayman Al-Rawi, described as the group’s so-called “governor of Al-Anbar (Wali Al-Anbar).” He was detained in the Five-Kilometer area (Khamsa Kilo) west of Ramadi while wearing an explosive belt and preparing to carry out an attack.

The arrest led to further investigations that resulted in the detention of five additional ISIS members, including individuals responsible for transportation and logistical support. Among them was Qusay Shaalan, identified as overseeing the manufacture of explosive-laden drones and managing the group’s so-called “chemical file.”

The security forces also targeted a figure known as Abu Hussein Al-Fahdawi, described as ISIS’s “security official” in Al-Anbar. According to Al-Hakim, Al-Fahdawi, and two of his escorts detonated themselves after being surrounded at their hideout.

The operation also included a sweep of the Rutba desert, where the security forces seized explosive devices, ammunition, and military equipment prepared for use in what the statement described as “terrorist activities.”

Last week, an Iraqi security source told Shafaq News that three suicide bombers detonated explosive belts during an attempted arrest operation in Al-Anbar, wounding a senior security official.

Al-Anbar shares Iraq’s longest border with Syria, stretching about 325 kilometers. The border begins at the tripoint linking Iraq, Syria, and Jordan and extends northeast toward the Al-Qaim area, where the Euphrates River enters Iraqi territory.

The developments come as Iraq, in coordination with the US Central Command (CENTCOM), continues to receive ISIS-linked detainees transferred from prisons in Syria. Saad Maan, head of the Security Media Cell, told Shafaq News that 4,583https://shafaq.com/en/Security/ISIS-detainee-relocations-from-Syria-to-Iraq-surpass-4-000 of an expected 7,000 detainees —including Iraqis, Syrians, and other foreign nationals— have arrived so far.