Islamic State’s ‘prince of battles’ apprehended in Iraq’s Mosul
Iraqi troops arrest a suspected Islamic State militant
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces arrested on Sunday a high-profile Islamic State commander during a security operation in Mosul city.
“The so-called Islamic State’s prince of battles was apprehended in Rabia district, west of Mosul, as he has just returned from Syria, where he escaped after the liberation of Iraqi territories from the terrorist group,” Alghad Press quoted the Iraqi Military Intelligence Directorate as saying in a statement.
The terrorist “was involved in several fights against security forces in Anbar province,” the statement read, adding that he was given the code-name of “prince of battles” due to the large number of battles he fought against Iraqi security forces.
Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced in July 2017 liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014. More than 25,000 militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in October 2016.
The campaign was backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led international coalition.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq in November 2017 with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.