Iraqi National Security Service arrests two senior ISIS leaders in separate operations​

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi National Security Service announced on Monday that two senior ISIS leaders, Abu Anas Al-Iraqi and Allawi Shatt, have been arrested in two separate operations.

“Through intelligence efforts and field surveillance to pursue the remnants of ISIS elements, the INSS units in Baghdad carried out a high-level operation that led to the capture of the ISIS terrorist known as Abu Anas Al-Iraqi,” read a statement from the INSS. Al-Iraqi, a key member of the so-called Wilayat Salahuddin, was wanted under Article 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law.

The INSS detailed that Al-Iraqi had been moving between Salahuddin, Anbar, and Baghdad provinces and had been injured during clashes with security forces on Samarra Island. “He later relocated to Tarmiyah, where he specialized in anti-armor units and trained others in the use of the SPG-9 recoilless gun,” the statement said.

“After the Mosul liberation operations ended, the terrorist moved again to Baghdad, forged his official documents, and assumed the identity of his deceased brother. He even issued a fake death certificate under his real name,” the INSS explained, adding that despite his efforts, they were able to apprehend him.

In a separate operation, INSS units arrested another ISIS member, Allawi Shatt, “acting on precise intelligence.” Shatt had been hiding in a farm in the Makhmour district of Nineveh Province. “Allawi Shatt was an administrative officer in the Zinourin Sector of the so-called Wilayat North Baghdad and had participated in several terrorist operations targeting security forces and civilians,” the statement said.

The INSS also revealed that Shatt had been involved in “attacks on the Karkh Water Project in Tarmiyah with mortar shells north of Baghdad.”

During the investigation, “the suspect confessed to distributing monthly stipends and providing logistical support to ISIS cells operating in the orchards of Tarmiyah,” according to the INSS.

Both suspects have been referred to the judiciary to face legal action in accordance with Article 4 of Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law, which prescribes severe penalties for those found guilty of terrorist acts.