ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi intelligence forces on Tuesday announced the arrest of a “highly dangerous” suspected Islamic State (ISIS) operative who specialized in making explosives, during an operation that took over ten months. 

Aliased “Abu Aliya,” the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) labeled him a “highly dangerous operative,” saying he was an expert in producing explosives and began his activities in 2004 as a member of al-Qaeda in Baghdad. 

He was arrested “upon his return from a neighboring country,” the INSS said, without disclosing the country, as Iraq increasingly coordinates with regional nationals to combat ISIS remnants. 

“He specialized in preparing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and led a terrorist cell consisting of five members to carry out criminal operations,” it added.

The suspect moved to the northern Salahaddin and Kirkuk provinces and changed his alias to “Abu Mustafa” as Iraqi forces began reclaiming territory from ISIS, according to the INSS, and began supervising encrypted communications systems “before fleeing Iraq and hiding abroad for years.” 

ISIS took over large swathes of Iraq and Syrian territory in 2014, announcing its so-called “caliphate” with the Iraqi northern city of Mosul as its capital. The group, widely designated as a terrorist organization, was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, with assistance from US-led coalition forces.

Despite its territorial defeat, ISIS militants continue to pose a security threat in Iraq through sporadic hit-and-run operations and attacks on remote areas. Iraqi forces, in cooperation with Kurdish forces, have intensified their efforts to eliminate these remnants.