ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi counter terror units killed an Islamic State (ISIS) leader in Diyala province, the Iraqi Security Media Cell said on Saturday.
The ISIS leader, known as Abu Saad al-Samin, was killed near Lake Hamrin in Diyala province, the cell said in a statement on Telegram.
Samin was an emir and also had a role in carrying out operations and preparing suicide bombers, it added.
According to the cell, counter terror forces had been following the movements of Samin for some time.
ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, but the terror group continues to remain a threat across the country, particularly in areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil where there is a security vacuum between federal and regional forces.
Iraqi and Kurdish security forces are working to close that gap, building trust between them by forming joint coordination centres and conducting operations together.
Kurdish and Iraqi forces arrested more than a dozen suspected ISIS members, including leaders, in raids across the country earlier this month.
Scores of ISIS suspects have been arrested in Iraq in recent months. The "Emir of Baghdad" was picked up in Baghdad in July, five ISIS suspects were arrested planning an attack on Erbil in the same month, and in April, 22 ISIS suspects were arrested in Sulaimani.
Peshmerga and Iraqi forces now plan to increase their coordination by forming two joint brigades. “The terrorist organization ISIS is increasing its terrorist acts in Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Diyala, Salahaddin, Anbar and western Mosul,” deputy Peshmerga minister Sarbast Lazgin said earlier this month.
In the latest edition of its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba, ISIS claimed it had conducted 14 attacks across Iraq between July 22 and 28, killing and injuring 17 people.
The ISIS leader, known as Abu Saad al-Samin, was killed near Lake Hamrin in Diyala province, the cell said in a statement on Telegram.
Samin was an emir and also had a role in carrying out operations and preparing suicide bombers, it added.
According to the cell, counter terror forces had been following the movements of Samin for some time.
ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, but the terror group continues to remain a threat across the country, particularly in areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil where there is a security vacuum between federal and regional forces.
Iraqi and Kurdish security forces are working to close that gap, building trust between them by forming joint coordination centres and conducting operations together.
Kurdish and Iraqi forces arrested more than a dozen suspected ISIS members, including leaders, in raids across the country earlier this month.
Scores of ISIS suspects have been arrested in Iraq in recent months. The "Emir of Baghdad" was picked up in Baghdad in July, five ISIS suspects were arrested planning an attack on Erbil in the same month, and in April, 22 ISIS suspects were arrested in Sulaimani.
Peshmerga and Iraqi forces now plan to increase their coordination by forming two joint brigades. “The terrorist organization ISIS is increasing its terrorist acts in Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Diyala, Salahaddin, Anbar and western Mosul,” deputy Peshmerga minister Sarbast Lazgin said earlier this month.
In the latest edition of its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba, ISIS claimed it had conducted 14 attacks across Iraq between July 22 and 28, killing and injuring 17 people.
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