Trump hails capture of ‘five most wanted’ ISIS leaders

United States president Donald Trump confirmed that five “most wanted” ISIS commanders have been captured, in an apparent reference to the leaders of the group recently detained in Iraq.

“Five Most Wanted leaders of ISIS just captured!” he tweeted, without providing further details. It came after Iraqi officials confirmed the results of the three-month cross-border operation.

The men’s capture represents a major strategic victory for the US-led coalition and the government in Baghdad, ahead of Saturday’s elections.

The joint strategy focused on tracking, locating and detaining top ISIS leaders to not only hamper the group but to lead them to further arrests.

The five commanders, four of whom are said to be Iraqis and one Syrian, were in control of governance for ISIS in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria, as well as internal security and overseeing religious rulings.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi is not thought to be among them.

Iraqi intelligence operatives lured the men into Iraq after capturing a top aide to Al Baghdadi in February. Ismail Al Eithawi, who also uses the alias Abu Zaid Al Iraqi, was captured by Turkish authorities and handed over to Iraqi agents.

They used the Telegram messaging app on Eithawi’s mobile phone to lure other ISIS commanders to cross the border from Syria into Iraq, where they were caught.

Those held include Saddam Jamal, a Syrian who served as the group’s governor of Syria’s eastern Euphrates region.