Iraqi army capture IS 'Emir of Conquests' near Syria border

A senior Islamic State group militant known as the "Emir of Conquests" was arrested in Mosul on Sunday, a military statement said.

He was captured at the Rabiah border while attempting with other IS militants to cross the Syria border, the statement said.

"In a sting operation based on intelligence received, a division within the Directorate of Military Intelligence arrested a number of the terrorists who had taken part in numerous assaults in the Anbar province, including a militant known as the 'Emir of Conquests'," the statement said.

"He was captured while trying to infiltrate the border from Syria, where he was met by our forces. He was held in the village of Naim in Rabiah." 

The militant, whose real name was undisclosed, was known for taking part in the raid of Baiji oil refinery in 2014. 

He has four brothers who are also members of the militant group and are currently in Turkey and Syria.

His nephew was a senior al-Qaeda official in Baiji in 2005.

At the height of its rule, IS imposed its brutal interpretation of Islamic law across territory straddling Syria and Iraq that was roughly the size of the United Kingdom.

But more than four years after IS declared a cross-border "caliphate", the jihadists have lost all but a tiny patch of land in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border.

According to reports, around 46,000 people, including a large number of foreigners, have streamed out of IS' shrinking territory since early December.

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