Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters – Turkish intelligence helped Iraq capture a senior Islamic State commander who was hiding out in Northwestern Syria. Three security sources confirmed that the operation demonstrates closer cooperation in fighting remnants.

Iraq declared Monday that Sami Jasim had been captured by its security forces. It described it as a “special operation beyond the borders”. He was not given any specific details.

Jasim was one of the top Islamic State leaders who has been captured. The Iraqi government stated that Jasim was the deputy of Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and an close aide for its current leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi.

Two Iraqi security officials and a senior regional source told Reuters Jasim was in northern Syria, and that Turkish intelligence played a key role in his capture. They spoke only because they were discussing secret operations and requested anonymity.

Jasim was captured by the Turkish and Iraqi government officials declined to comment.

A closer cooperation between Iraq (from which many Islamic State leaders were born) and Turkey could tighten the grip on the remnants of this jihadist group even though the U.S. military’s presence has decreased in that region.

Northwestern (NASDAQ) Syria remains the final stronghold of rebels fighting Damascus. Turkey is a major player in the region, as it has sent its troops on a number of incursions starting in 2016 and continues to support some rebels who oppose President Bashar al-Assad.

A senior regional security official said Jasim had been in northwest Syria when he surrendered to local security forces. It is possible that this was a reference to the rebels of Syria. Two sources from Iraq claimed that he was taken into custody in Turkey soon after being lured across the border.

Sources in Iraq claimed that Jasim had been being followed by intelligence agents from Iraq for many months. According to the second Iraqi security source, Jasim was captured after being informed by an Islamic State prisoner.

Sources declined to provide further information, including the date and time Jasim was taken prisoner. They also stated that this could pose a risk for future operations.

The capture of his son could provide valuable intelligence on the Islamic State remnants, which were driven from their cross-border “caliphate,” in Syria and Iraq many years ago. However, they still carry out attacks in both these countries.

According to two sources close to the Iraqi military aviation services and one of the Iraqi security officials, Jasim was flown from Turkey to Iraq in a military aircraft.

Sources in Iraq shared photos that showed Jasim being flown to Iraq by a plane. This photo shows a man wearing a yellow jumpsuit and their face covered as they are being led from the plane to Iraq by security agents in balaclavas. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the authenticity of this image.

When Reuters asked the U.S.-led Coalition about Jasim’s capture on Monday, it said that they would not comment but praised Iraqi forces for “regularly leading and conducting destructive blows against the remnants of Islamic State.”

The website of Rewards for Justice (the U.S. Department of State counter-terrorism reward programme), states that Jasim was “instrumental” in managing funds for ISIS terrorist operations. Jasim had been offered $5 million by the United States to provide information.

“The Iraqis are going to be trying as hard as they can to discover as many details as possible about the connections and networks he has in Iraq, and beyond. Raffaello Pantucci is a senior associate fellow with the RUSI Security Think Tank.

The Islamic State’s “caliphate” across borders once covered a third Syria and Iraq. This inspired affiliates, including one in Afghanistan. The U.S.-led coalition helped local forces to defeat the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.