ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A mullah who pledged his allegiance to ISIS and was in contact with the group since 2014 confessed the connection to Kurdistan's security forces and admitted to coordinating last month's deadly attack on the Erbil governorate offices.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) released a taped confession from Mullah Ismail Susayi on Thursday, admitting his connections to ISIS and with the gunmen who attacked the offices of the Erbil governorate on the morning on July 23.
"At the end of 2014, three young men visited my mosque who were connected to the Islamic State," said Susayi, referring to ISIS members and not the attackers. "After evening prayer, those men talked about Islamic State with me and praised the group."
The trio had carried a message back to Susayi.
"One of these three men, Abdul Manaf, told me once that I think Islamic State knows and loves you," added Susayi. "He asked me to talk to the Islamic State."
The KRSC also provided taped voice messages from Susayi for ISIS leaders since 2014. Susayi informed ISIS on Peshmerga capabilities and locations. He also tried to send a voice message to ISIS leader Abu Bakir al-Baghdadi, according to the KRSC.
"I even talked to one of my high school students named Sleman Sheikh Abdullah Zikhani who was in the Islamic State. He told me he still accepts me as his imam," said Susayi.
Additionally, Susayi said he has collected weapons and money for ISIS.
The three gunmen took two hostages, killing one. Security forces said all three attackers are from Erbil. They were named as Rahel Mohammad Rostam (16), Abdulrahman Rahim Qader (16), and Bilal Sleman Abdulrahman (18). Security forces engaged the gunmen, killing all three.
The KRSC also announced on Thursday it arrested two more young men for helping in the operation: Mohammed Jabar Salih, 19, and Mohammed Sherzad Yasin, 19.
Both gave taped confessions of their involvement in the attack.
Yasin said: “In 2015 I did bay’ah to the Islamic State through Mohammad Ibrahim. I wanted to do hijra to the Islamic State but Erbil Asayesh arrested me and I was sentenced to a year in prison … in 2018 I knew Abdulrahman and later we became friends."
Salih said: “After two years of reading religious books and listening to Mullah Suskayi and other mullahs, I thought about jihad... In November 2017, in our school I did bay’ah (pledge of alliance) to ISIS through Abdulrahman Rahim Qadir. He said that we have to do jihad or hijra [go to an Islamic place] after bay’ah.
