Iraq: Major ISIS figure arrested

Shafaq News – Nineveh

Abu Salem al-Iraqi, a senior ISIS figure, was arrested in Nineveh province during an intelligence-led operation by Iraq’s National Security Service, security sources told Shafaq News on Wednesday.

The arrest took place in the Qatanbiyah area of Sinjar, “after al-Iraqi was lured back into the country through a fabricated job offer arranged by the agency using one of his former acquaintances,” the sources said, adding that he had been in hiding for over a decade, using forged identities to evade capture.

Preliminary investigations revealed his direct involvement in the killing of an Iraqi soldier during ISIS’s large-scale offensive across the country in 2014.

Meanwhile, the US-led Global Coalition praised the operation in a statement, calling it a new success in intelligence and security coordination between Iraqi forces and international partners, “as part of ongoing efforts to eliminate remaining ISIS elements.”