Iraqi premier announces killing of senior Daesh figure

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced Thursday that security forces have killed a senior Daesh commander who had claimed to be the terrorist group’s leader in the country.

“We promised and fulfilled. I gave my word to pursue Daesh terrorists. We gave them a thundering response. Our heroic armed forces have eliminated Daesh commander Abu Yaser Al-Issawi as part of an intelligence-led operation,” he said in a tweet.

Al-Kadhimi did not provide further details on the operation that led to Al-Issawi’s killing.

Iraq has intensified its campaign in pursuit of the remnants of Daesh over the past few days following twin suicide bombings last Thursday in the capital Baghdad that were claimed by Daesh and killed at least 32 people and wounded 110 others.

In June 2014, the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group captured Mosul, Salahuddin and Anbar provinces and parts of Diyala and Kirkuk provinces. The territories were recaptured from the group in December 2017 by Iraqi forces with support from a US-led international coalition against Daesh in Iraq.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara