Iraqi PM says IS commander for country killed

Baghdad, Oct 23 (IANS) Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that security forces killed the commander of the Islamic State (IS) group for Iraq and eight other senior leaders in an operation in a mountainous area of northern Iraq.

In a post on the social media platform X on Tuesday, al-Sudani said the operation was carried out by the Counter-Terrorism and National Security Services and targeted the terrorist hideouts in the Hamrin mountain range.

"There is no place for terrorists in Iraq, and we will pursue and eliminate them until the land of Iraq is cleansed of terrorists and their evil deeds," al-Sudani noted.

Meanwhile, a statement by the Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, said that based on intelligence reports and several months of monitoring, the security forces raided at dawn on Tuesday the headquarters of the IS group in the Hamrin mountain range, reports Xinhua news agency.

Nine terrorists were killed, including the IS group's leader in Iraq, Jasim al-Mazrouei, nicknamed Abu Abdul-Qader, and eight other senior leaders, whose names and detailed information will be announced later after DNA testing, according to the statement.

The troops also seized large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and equipment and destroyed eight hideouts within the major IS headquarters, including a large workshop for manufacturing explosive devices, the statement added.

The security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have sneaked into urban centres, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.