US announces capture of 5 senior IS leaders

The US has captured five more senior IS leaders, including a close aide to senior leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Five senior leaders of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization have been arrested in a covert operation coordinated by Iraqi and US intelligence. The arrests were announced on Iraqi state television and were confirmed by US President Donald Trump on May 10 via Twitter: "5 most wanted IS leaders have just been captured." In addition, the spokesman for the US-led coalition - Colonel Ryan Dillon declared: "This is a blow that causes 'significant damage to IS".

It is known that the US-led coalition includes both Iraqi soldiers and US-backed Syrian fighters. The war between the coalition and IS has lasted for the past 3 years, but recently it has had clear results, causing heavy losses to IS. In this raid, the captured IS leaders include 4 Iraqi citizens and 1 Syrian citizen, the figures responsible for managing the IS-controlled territory in Deir al-Zour, Syria as well as operating the IS's internal security and administrative apparatus.

According to two unnamed Iraqi officials, among the leaders arrested is Ismail Alwaan al-Ithawi - an Iraqi citizen and believed to be a close aide to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He is believed to be responsible for setting religious principles within IS. He is also a member of a body that has the power to appoint security and administrative leaders to run IS-controlled territories.

Previously, Ismail Alwaan al-Ithawi was arrested by Turkish forces in this country in February. After US and Iraqi intelligence agents extracted bank account and social network codes from Ithawi's phone, Iraqi agents disguised themselves to lure the remaining people into a trap and arrested them.

Although the US-Iraq coalition has not yet captured IS's supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with the capture of five more senior leaders including Alwaan al-Ithawi, it can be seen that IS is facing enormous pressure from the US and is experiencing a crisis in both morale and numbers.

In addition to capturing five leaders, the US-Iraq coalition also killed 39 more IS fighters. However, the final goal has not been achieved, which is to capture Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Many sources said that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is currently hiding in eastern Syria with a small group of loyal guards, including Baghdadi's son and son-in-law.