Iraqi forces arrest prominent Islamic State health official south of Mosul

Iraqi security forces arrested a “prominent terrorist” in southern Mosul, the country’s Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday. The operation took place in the Tal Abata district, south of the city of Mosul, a statement from the Interior Ministry said.

“A force from the Nineveh Police Directorate, based on accurate information, was able to arrest a terrorist known by the acronym FZE in the Tal Abata district, south of Mosul city,” the statement read.

According to the ministry, the suspect was allegedly working in the so-called Islamic State’s health bureau and was in charge of medicine and ammunition for the terror group during its control of Mosul.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, at least four security forces at a border checkpoint between Iraq and Syria were wounded in an alleged Islamic State attack, the Iraqi military said.

Iraq’s Security Media Cell said in a statement that “ISIS terrorist gangs carried out an attack on a point belonging to the border guard forces north of the Al-Waleed port with Syria.”

The Islamic State seems to be encouraged by US-Iran tensions in the region as the terror group continues to launch attacks and attempts to re-establish a foothold in Iraq.

Meanwhile, in the wake of escalating developments between the United States and Iran, the US-led Coalition against the Islamic State announced it was suspending operations against the terrorist group to focus on ensuring the security of the military bases in Iraq from which its troops operate.

Germany has warned that any Coalition withdrawal from Iraq would aid the terror group’s resurgence, making it not only a domestic threat in Iraq but also an international one.

Source: Kurdistan 24