Iraq has captured the alleged finance chief and second in command of the Islamic State group, for whom the US had offered a $5 million bounty.
Sami Jasim al-Jaburi, the suspected former deputy to the late IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was arrested by intelligence services 'outside the borders' of Iraq, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi announced on Monday.
He did not specify the location, but Kadhemi said on Twitter Jaburi was captured in a 'complex external operation'.
'While our [Iraqi security forces] heroes focused on securing the elections, their [Iraqi national intelligence services] colleagues were conducting a complex external operation to capture Sami Jasim,' al-Kadhemi wrote.
He did not offer further details of the operation, but described it as 'one of the most difficult' cross border intelligence operations ever conducted by Iraqi forces.
The US Rewards for Justice programme said Jaburi within IS had 'reportedly served as the equivalent of... finance minister, supervising the group's revenue-generating operations from illicit sales of oil, gas, antiquities and minerals'.
The programme's website describes Jasim as having been 'instrumental in managing finances for IS terrorist operations.
'While serving as IS deputy in southern Mosul in 2014, Jasim reportedly served as the equivalent of IS's finance minister, supervising the group's revenue-generating operations from illicit sales of oil, gas, antiquities, and minerals,' the website adds.
In September 2015, the US Treasury Department labelled Jaburi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Iraqi intelligence officials told The Associated Press that Jasim was detained in an identified foreign country and transported to Iraq few days ago.
IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in a raid by US special forces in northwestern Syria in October 2019, under former U.S. President Donald Trump. It is thought that Jaburi was Baghdadi's deputy
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak of the operation on the record.
Jassem worked in Iraq with al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq in 2006.
He assumed various security positions in Iraq, and moved to Syria in 2015, after the Islamic State group, an al-Qaida offshoot, declared its caliphate in 2014 and became the deputy of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the extremist group's leader.
IS took a third of Iraq in a lightning offensive in 2014.
Iraq's government declared victory against the jihadists in late 2017 after a grinding military campaign backed by a US-led coalition.
Baghdadi was killed in a raid by US special forces in northwestern Syria in October 2019, under former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The U.S. state Department had at the time offered a reward for information leading to the location of Islamic State leaders it identified including Jasim.
While the Islamic State has largely been defeated in Iraq, the terrorist group still conducts some attacks in the country's more remote parts, and Iraq officials have said that it's members are still hiding in the country's cities.
Last week, the group claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack in Ramadi city, which was devastated by the ISIS' initial takeover and the subsequent battle for its recapture.
Iraqis arrive to cast their vote at a polling station during the Iraqi early general elections in Najaf, Iraq on October 10, 2021
Meanwhile, Iraqis voted on Sunday in parliamentary elections held months ahead of schedule as a concession to a youth-led popular uprising against corruption and mismanagement.
But the voting was marked by widespread apathy and a boycott by many of the young activists who thronged the streets of Baghdad and Iraq's southern provinces in late 2019.
Tens of thousands of people took part in the mass protests and were met by security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas. More than 600 people were killed and thousands injured within just a few months.
More definitive results were expected later Monday, but negotiations to choose a prime minister tasked with forming a government are expected to drag on for weeks or even months.
The election was the sixth held since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi announced the capture of Jaburi on Monday, the day after elections were held in Iraq. Kadhimi foreshadowed the announcement of Jaburi's capture after he stepped out of a polling booth where he cast his vote. Pictured: Kadhimi shows his inked finger after casting his vote on Sunday
Many were skeptical that independent candidates from the protest movement stood a chance against well-entrenched parties and politicians, many of them backed by powerful armed militias.
Kadhimi foreshadowed the announcement of Jaburi's capture after he stepped out of a polling booth where he cast his vote.
'Tomorrow, Monday, you will hear about a major security achievement,' he told TV crews. 'We don't want to announce today because we want to give a chance to the elections to be the top story.'
No comments:
Post a Comment