“We have arrested Ali Suliman Osman who was one of the principal perpetrators behind the April 2015 terrorist attack near the US consulate in Erbil’s suburban town of Ainkawa,” reads the statement released by Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism unit.
“Terrorist Ali Suliman Osman fled the Kurdistan Region after the arrest of the mastermind and other perpetrators of the terrorist act. In a successful operation by the general directorate of the counter-terrorism unit and following information gathering and close monitoring, we arrested the wanted terrorist who had been carrying a fake identity card under the name Hewa Mohammed Ismail,” the statement detailed.
On April 17, 2015, at 5:40 pm, a car bomb was exploded by remote control in front of Neli Café, near the US consulate in the town of Ainkawa, resulting in the death of two Turkish nationals and injuring 8 others. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Ainkawa is a predominantly Christian neighbourhood popular with Westerners.
In June last year, the Erbil Criminal Court handed down death sentences for seven perpetrators of the bombing and another ten were sentenced to life imprisonment.
