Iraqi troops arrest key Islamic State financier in Diyala
Paramilitary fighters and military vehicles are seen during a military operation to retake positions held by Islamic State militants, on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad January 25, 2015. Picture taken January 25, 2015. REUTERS
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces arrested on Saturday a key Islamic State financier in the eastern province of Diyala, a security committee said.
“A joint security force carried out a specific operation in an area located 20km south of Baqubah, managing to arrest a key financier of Islamic State cells,” Sadeq al-Husseini, the head of the Security Committee in Diyala Provincial Council, told the Arabic-language Baghdad Today news website.
“The operation was launched upon accurate intelligence reports,” Husseini added.
In January 2015, Iraqi forces announced liberation of Diyala province from Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The province has seen months of fighting between Iraqi troops and IS militants especially in the Jalawla and Saadiyah areas in the province’s north and areas near the town of Muqdadiyah.