Death of Islamic State’s education minister confirmed after year of his murder

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The identity of a German Islamic State leader, of Egyptian origins, has been confirmed, after being killed last year in the Iraqi city of Mosul, German security sources were quoted saying on Friday.

The sources said that the identity of Reda Siyam, who used to be the group’s education minister, has been confirmed after a long period of time, DPA reported.

Siyam, left Germany in 2012 and joined the militant group in Syria, before he became in charge of the group’s education department in Mosul. He used to live in Berlin, where his wife stays.

According to the report, the German authorities expect return of one third of jihadists to Germany, indicating that around 1000 suspects left Germany since 2013 and joined the group as well as other terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria.

Around 150 jihadists from German origins were killed in conflict zones, according to estimates.

In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014. However, the group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.

Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016.

Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.