ISIS ‘Deputy’ Killed in Iraq, Says Iraqi Prime Minister
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced Thursday that security forces have killed Abu Yaser al-Issawi, an ISIS commander who had claimed to be the leader of the terror group in Iraq and its “deputy caliph.”
“Our heroic armed forces have eliminated Daesh [ISIS] commander Abu Yaser Al-Issawi as part of an intelligence-led operation,” Kadhimi wrote in a tweet, referring to ISIS by an Arabic term considered by the group to be slanderous.
“I gave my word to pursue the Daesh terrorists, we gave them a thundering response,” Kadhimi wrote, adding, “Long live Iraq and its patriotic armed forces.”
WASHINGTON, DC: Mike Pompeo, the outgoing US secretary of state, made a splash last week when he unveiled new intelligence pointing to an enduring operational relationship between the regime in Iran and Al-Qaeda’s international terror network.
Although senior Al-Qaeda operatives are long known for using Iran as a transit point and shelter, what many policymakers and the general public have failed to grasp is just how vital the safe haven offered by the Islamic Republic has become to Al-Qaeda’s survival.
Iran is now officially the last government in the world that knowingly harbors and facilitates Al-Qaeda activity. Revelations concerning the full extent of this nexus come as Iran accelerates its drive towards nuclear-weapons capability with threats and warnings that are a belated wake-up call for world leaders.