Iraqi troops arrest senior Islamic State leader in Anbar province
Iraqi troops arrest a suspected Islamic State militant
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces arrested on Saturday a senior leader of the terrorist Islamic State group in the western province of Anbar, a security source was quoted as saying.
“Security forces launched a wide-scale operation in northern Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, managing to arrest a senior Islamic State leader,” the source told Almaalomah news website.
According to the source, the terrorist was handed over to the competent authorities for interrogation.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq in November 2017 with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.