ISIS’ ‘most wanted’ leaders captured in sting operation

Five senior Islamic State (ISIS) leaders have been captured in a sting operation orchestrated by American and Iraqi intelligence. The capture was announced on Iraqi state television on Wednesday, and confirmed by President Trump on Thursday, who tweeted “Five Most Wanted leaders of ISIS just captured!” Iraqi intelligence officials told the New York Times that one of the men, Ismail Alwaan al-Ithawi, who is described as a top aide to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was arrested in Turkey by Turkish forces in February. After American and Iraqi intelligence agents extracted banking and communication codes from Ithawi’s phone, Iraqi agents lured the other men into their trap and arrested them. The US has placed a $25 million bounty on al-Baghdadi, who is still on the run.