Nasser al-Qardash, a senior ISIS leader newly transferred to Iraqi authority custody will prove to be a “treasure trove” of information on new ISIS strategy for the Iraqi government, security analyst Husham al-Hashimi told Rudaw's Sangar Abdulrahman on Thursday. Iraq's state media reported an Iraqi intelligence announcement of Qardash's arrest in Wednesday, but Hashimi told Rudaw that the ISIS ringleader surrendered himself to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the battle for the last ISIS stronghold of Baghouz, eastern Syria in March 2019. Qardash was held in Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) detention for a year before he was handed to Iraqi forces a few days ago, Hashimi said. ISIS swept through parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria in the summer of 2014. The extremist militant group, otherwise known by their Arabic acronym Daesh, were declared territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017, and in March 2019 in Syria, but continue to conduct deadly attacks on security forces and civilians. According to Hashimi, between 3500-4000 active militants and 8000-9000 inactive Daesh militants are currently present in Iraq. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Rudaw: When and how was Nasser al-Qardash arrested? Husham al-Hashimi: A professional committee in Baghdad belonging to the Iraqi intelligence agency can question such a Daesh leader. He is considered to be holding a lot of important information, since he [Qardash] has been a senior Daesh member through all of the group's stages - from Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and now Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi. He is a treasure trove of information for the Iraqi government - one that can clarify and identify a lot of key information for the Iraqi government on Daesh, including fund sources, intelligence, their operations in foreign countries, and their internal management. So there will be many interrogation sessions with the Daesh leader [Qardash], to extract as much as information from him as possible on Daesh's new strategy under the leadership of Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi. He was seen as a potential successor to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, so how was he arrested so easily? Why didn't he react violently when he knew he was going to be arrested like Baghdadi did, blowing himself before being detained by the Americans? Qardash was arrested last year, surrendering himself after the battle of Baghouz in eastern Syria to the SDF, who handed Qardash over to the coalition forces. He was held for a year at the Haqil al-Omar prison in eastern Syria. The Iraqi intelligence agency provided the coalition with a lot of information on Nasser Qardash, and the Iraqi intelligence agency participated in the interrogation sessions on him alongside the SDF and the coalition forces at Haqil al-Omar. Qardash was transferred to Iraq a few days ago, after a year in Syria. Iraq is now continuing to interrogate Qardash, paving the way for researchers and psychiatrists to start getting Qardash to reveal information on Daesh, as he holds a lot of information on the group because he was its main leader in eastern Syria from 2011 to 2019. So if he was arrested in 2019, why was his detention only announced now? Qardash was held in an SDF prison, under the supervision of the coalition forces - specifically the coalition's US forces. The transfer of such a Daesh leader from Syria to Iraq entails a lot of protocol and diplomatic effort. But investigation into Qardash was continuous throughout his detention at Haqil al-Omar prison. Iraqi intelligence officers frequently visited him at the prison to interrogate him, and the Iraqis were able to force Qardash to reveal a lot of information on Daesh. Will the detention of Qardash negatively impact Daesh? Do you think the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and detention of Qardash will bring an end to the group? Many say that the death and detention of Daesh leaders does not affect its activities. I don't think Daesh could have been defeated by killing one of its leaders, but it is surely weakened when a founding leader who was a mastermind behind its movement in the region is killed or arrested. So the detention of Qardash definitely weakens Daesh. With the arrest of Qardash, who will be Daesh's next leader? According to local and international intelligence sources, Daesh already appointed a new leader in November 2019, which is Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, also known as Haji Amer Qardash or Haji Abdullah Qardash. Daesh has alternatives, but ones that are of less value and importance than Nasser Qardash. Those who now lead the Daesh delegate committee are less powerful and skillful than Nasser Qardash. In the past few days Daesh has conducted widespread attacks on Iraqi security forces, killing many force members especially in and around Diyala. Do you think Iraqi forces are still in need of US-led coalition support and assistance to confront Daesh? I think Iraq is still very much in need of the US-led coalition support. Although Iraqi forces have been improved very much recently, they still need coalition support to completely eliminate Daesh in Iraq. My last question – what is your estimation of Daesh militant numbers in Iraq? There are approximately 3500-4000 active militants and 8000-9000 inactive Daesh militants currently present in Iraq.
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