Iraqi forces capture mastermind of Qayyarah bombing

By Aref Youssef

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) – Iraqi forces arrested the mastermind of a suicide bombing that killed six people in northern Iraq last week, according to an Iraqi police officer on Sunday.

A car bomb exploded at a marketplace in the town of al-Qayyarah, some 60 kilometers south of Mosul, on Tuesday, killing six people and injuring dozens.

Police forces arrested Ibrahim Hussein, an Iraqi national, who confessed of taking part in planning the attack, Ayoub Anwar, the police chief of the northern town of Dibka, told Anadolu Agency.

He said the suspect was detained inside the Dibka refugee camp in the northern city of Sharqat.

Iraqi authorities have launched a manhunt for other plotters of the attack, Anwar said.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, Iraqi authorities have blamed the Daesh terrorist group for the attack.

Recent months have seen frequent attacks by Daesh terrorists on security personnel stationed in Iraq’s northern and eastern provinces.

Last year, Iraqi officials declared that Daesh's military presence in the country had been all but destroyed following a three-year conflict with the army.

Nevertheless, the group appears to have maintained a limited presence in certain parts of the country, against which Iraqi security forces continue to carry out frequent operations.