ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s military intelligence arrested senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Sahir in the disputed areas of Kirkuk province on Sunday, the Security Media Cell announced, as the military has ramped up airstrikes against ISIS remnants in the country.
“The military intelligence directorate managed to conduct a precise preemptive operation on Sunday that resulted in the arrest of one of the wanted terrorist individuals known by the nom de guerre Abu Sahir,” read a statement from the Security Media Cell.
The arrested ISIS leader was a “high-priority target” for security forces, the statement added. The militant was hiding in the province’s Yayji sub-district. The intelligence of Division Eight of the Iraqi Army jointly conducted the operation with Yayji’s intelligence unit.
Abu Sahir had served in various positions for ISIS, including serving in ISIS’ “Yarmuk division” in Anbar and serving on a “Diwan of services” of ISIS during the group’s control in the country.
ISIS overran large swaths of the country in 2014. The fall of Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul in June of 2014 marked the rise of the group’s control over mostly Sunni areas of western and northern Iraq. The group was declared militarily defeated in late 2017 in Iraq.
Since then, however, the remnants have largely operated in remote areas or in areas with security vacuums, particularly in the disputed territories claimed by Baghdad and Erbil. They have conducted hit-and-run attacks against security forces and have kidnapped civilians for ransom money.
Over the past four days, Kurdistan Region’s security forces arrested nearly two dozen suspected ISIS members, including a senior religious leader, in a major operation in Sulaimani province, the Kurdistan Region Security Agency said early Sunday.
The arrests were carried out by the General Directorate of Asayish Operations, in coordination with security forces in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces, according to a statement from the Sulaimani-based agency.
The operations targeted two armed ISIS cells as well as several suspected clandestine members of the group, bringing the total number of detainees to 22.
Kurdish and federal Iraqi security forces frequently conduct joint operations against suspected ISIS cells.
The killing of an Iraqi military officer in early July during clashes with ISIS in Kirkuk prompted an intensified campaign targeting the group's hideouts in the region.
Recently, Iraqi security forces have ramped up attacks against these remnants. On Wednesday, Iraqi Air Force F-16 fighter jets targeted alleged ISIS remnants’ hideouts and safe houses in Wadi (valley) al-Shai in Salahaddin province. Wadi al-Shai is a rugged valley to the south of Kirkuk province. The targets were declared destroyed, but no figures on casualties were provided.
On Friday, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (ICTS) said it carried out airstrikes that resulted in the deaths of two remnants of ISIS in Wadi al-Shai.
Last Sunday, in a high-security-level meeting, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) security officials and Iraqi security officials agreed to bolster security coordination, particularly in the disputed territories.
