By Rania Abu Shamala
ISTANBUL (AA) – Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Tuesday announced the killing of the top Daesh/ISIS commander in Iraq.
He said the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed governor of Iraq and eight other terrorists were killed during a counter-terrorism operation in Hamrin Mountains in northeastern Iraq.
“There is no place for terrorists in Iraq, and we will pursue them to their hideouts and eliminate them until the land of Iraq is cleansed of them and their sinful actions,” al-Sudani added on X.
In June 2014, the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group captured Mosul, Saladin, and Anbar and parts of Diyala and Kirkuk provinces. The territory was recaptured from the group in December 2017 by Iraqi forces with support from a US-led international coalition against Daesh/ISIS in Iraq.
Despite the passing of nearly seven years since the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group was expelled from the region and the cities were recaptured, the organization's attacks continue, notably in rural areas of Kirkuk, Diyala, Mosul, Saladin and Anbar.