The arrest of Abdullah Qardash, one of the senior leaders of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) and a possible successor to ex-leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi, will help find the group's funding resources and details on its further plans, Sabah al-Nouman, a spokesman to the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), told Sputnik on Friday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2020) The arrest of Abdullah Qardash, one of the senior leaders of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) and a possible successor to ex-leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi, will help find the group's funding resources and details on its further plans, Sabah al-Nouman, a spokesman to the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), told Sputnik on Friday.
Late on Wednesday, Iraqi state media reported that the country's National Intelligence Service had detained Qardash, who occupied several senior positions with the IS. Following his arrest, the service said on Thursday that Qardash was in charge of manufacturing chemical weapons to attack Iraqi troops.
"Information provided by Qardash will help us to learn about the IS' financial resources and other important details on the group's leaders and its further plans," al-Nouman said.
Qardash was detained while staying in Syria as a result of the high-level coordination between the Iraqi intelligence services and the US-led coalition, which fights against the terrorist organization in the middle East, the spokesman noted, saying that the arrest of who could potentially be the next leader of the IS would weaken the group.
"Qardash is considered to be one of the most dangerous leaders. He was one of the possible candidates to succeed Baghdadi ... He was called a professor, as he had controlled the production process of chemical warfare agents and played a significant role in the terrorist organization's operations in Syria ... and in northern Iraq during the period of Mosul's occupation," al-Nouman said.
The spokesman added that the CTS would conduct more operations in the coming days in a bid to eliminate the group's remains, saying that most of its members were now living in the mountainous terrain in Iraq's western and northwestern parts.
In January, The Guardian newspaper reported, citing intelligence sources, that Abdullah Qardash is the nom de guerre of IS founding member Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi, who was appointed as the new IS leader in October 2019, several hours after Baghdadi's elimination.
Baghdadi is claimed to have been killed as a result of a special operation by US Navy Seals in Syria's rebel-held province of Idlib. US President Donald Trump confirmed Baghdadi's death and thanked Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and the Syrian Kurds for their assistance in the operation.
