One of the ISIS leaders detained in Iraq

Kurdish security forces have detained one of the Islamic State leaders Socrates Khalil, who was considered the “right hand” of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and played an important role in the terrorists maintaining control of the city of Mosul in 2014, Iraqi Kurdistan security council informed Shafaq News Agency.

As the council indicated, Khalil admitted that after spending five years in Turkey, he returned to Iraqi Kurdistan using a fake passport and was immediately detained.

According to Kurdish security forces, al-Baghdadi entrusted Khalil with several terrorist tasks. He was given a prominent role in controlling the city of Mosul and participated in many operations against Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga militia forces.

The Islamic State terrorist group captured large areas of northern and western Iraq in 2014, including the country's second most populous city, Mosul. At the end of 2017, the Iraqi authorities declared victory over the Islamic State, but the Iraqi army, with the support of militia units, continues to clear militants and conduct operations to identify “sleeper cells” of terrorist groups in certain areas.