Iraqi forces nab senior Daesh leader near Mosul

NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) - Iraqi security forces on Thursday captured a senior Daesh leader south of Mosul, according to a local security source.

“Ali Dathan Khazal, who oversaw mosques and charitable activities for Daesh during the group's three-year occupation of the city, has been apprehended,” Police Major Abdul-Samei al-Ballawi told Anadolu Agency.

According to al-Ballawi, Khazal was found and arrested Thursday in a displacement camp south of Mosul.

“He has since been handed over to the authorities for interrogation,” the police officer said.

Thousands have been arrested by Iraqi forces for suspected Daesh links since the terrorist group was driven from Mosul -- its primary stronghold -- late last year.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence in the country had been all but dismantled following a grueling three-year conflict.

Iraqi security forces, however, still mount frequent operations against what they describe as Daesh “sleeper cells”.