2 Senior ISIL Commanders Arrested by Iraqi Forces Near Mosul

TEHRAN (defapress)- Iraqi army troops arrested two high-profile members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group near the country’s strategic Northern city of Mosul as government forces, supported by allied fighters from Popular Mobilization Units, continue to hunt for the remnants of the terror network.

News ID: 69288

Date: 20 March 2018 - 13:02

Local police officer Captain Shakir al-Wandi said members of the army arrested self-proclaimed Daesh Finance Minister, identified as Dawoud Mohamed Saleh, was arrested during a raid on a house in al-Shura Island south of Mosul, North of the capital Baghdad.

Colonel Haseeb Maarouf of the Nineveh Operations Command said another Daesh leader, whose identity was not immediately known, was arrested in the operation as well.

Maarouf noted that a large cache of explosive materials and weapons was seized in the offensive.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in December declared the end of military operations against the Daesh terrorist group in the Arab country, while in July, he formally declared victory over Daesh extremists in Mosul, which served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold in the conflict-ridden Arab country.

In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer Hashd al-Shaabi fighters had made sweeping gains against Daesh.

Daesh began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.