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Iraqi security forces have arrested a senior Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist who was responsible for manufacturing car bombs, the Iraqi military said on Sunday, according to the Xinhua news agency.
Based on intelligence reports, an Iraqi army and police force circled the suspect in an operation, arresting him in a village in the Yusufiya area, some 30 km south of Baghdad, said a statement issued by the Baghdad Operations Command.
The suspect is in charge of explosive-laden manufacturing units in the IS terrorist group, the statement said.
Major Saad Ibrahim from the command told Xinhua that the arrested ISIS terrorist is a major mastermind wanted by security forces for making dozens of car bombs that targeted the security forces and civilians and caused the death and injury of many people.
ISIS overran large swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" in land it controlled.
Several military offensives, including those backed by the US-led international coalition, have since seen ISIS lose most areas it once controlled, including the loss of their de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria.
However, ISIS sleeper calls remain in the area continue to carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq. The US has roughly 900 troops in Syria as part of its effort to defeat ISIS in the region.
The international coalition led by the US has eliminated numerous ISIS terrorists in air strikes in Syria and Iraq in recent years.
In August of 2023, UN experts said that ISIS group still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members across its former stronghold in Syria and Iraq and its fighters pose the most serious terrorist threat in Afghanistan.