ISIS leader in charge of weapon stashes arrested northeast of Diyala

Islamic State leader in charge of the weapon stashes has been arrested, northeast of Diyala, the Security Media Center said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Yahia Rasool, the spokesperson for the center said, “security troops of Diyala Operations Command managed to arrest an IS member, who works within the group’s so-called Diyala State. The member is in charge of the group’s weapon stashes in northeast of Diyala.”

The troops, according to Rasool, “confiscated 41 guns in his possession.”

In December, Abadi announced full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against the militant group. However, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.

Thousands of IS militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition, was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group.

As many as 3,298 civilians were killed and 4,781 others were wounded in 2017, excluding Anbar civilian casualty figures for November and December, which are not available, UNAMI said in a report in December.

The war against IS has displaced at least five million people.

Source: Iraqi News