By Anas al-Bar | 2025-05-04

Iraqi authorities have arrested an "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) operative suspected of inciting a deadly January truck and shooting rampage in the US city of New Orleans, the Iraqi Judicial Council announced April 27.

The attacker, who the FBI said had pledged loyalty to ISIS, killed 15 people and wounded 30 others in the New Year's Day attack in the southern US city.

Police in New Orleans killed the attacker in an exchange of fire.

Iraqi authorities have now arrested a man accused of inciting the attacker to commit the act of terrorism.

The Iraqi arrest, coordinated through Iraq's National Center for International Judicial Cooperation, came after US authorities requested assistance in investigating the attack.

The ISIS inciter arrested in Iraq was identified and apprehended following extensive investigations and evidence analysis conducted by Iraq's First Karkh Investigative Court, the Iraqi Judicial Council said.

He will face trial under Iraq's antiterrorism laws, it said, adding that the arrest demonstrates "Iraq's commitment to international cooperation in combating terrorism and enhancing global security."

"Collaboration is not a choice but a necessity," council president Faiq Zidan said February 20.

"Ongoing challenges demand collective action to confront terrorism, extremism and crimes that threaten security and stability in our nations."

Bilateral coordination

The arrest highlights Iraq's growing counterterrorism capabilities, built through years of joint intelligence work coordinated through shared Iraqi-US operations centers, security expert Safaa al-Aasam told Al-Fassel.

"The presence today of thousands of terrorists, both Iraqis and foreigners, in prisons is clear evidence of the extensive coordination in tracking down ISIS fugitives and dismantling their secret cells," he said.

This bilateral coordination has yielded major victories against ISIS leadership, notably the March 13 killing of the group's top global deputy in a US-Iraqi operation in Anbar province.

The operation followed years of pursuit and coordination between the Kurdish region's intelligence network and federal Iraqi forces, per the Kurdistan Region Security Council.

On April 21, Kurdish counterterrorism forces, working with international coalition forces, captured several ISIS elements in the Garmian region.

Dwindling strength

Years of joint operations have produced a massive database that maps ISIS's remaining networks, financing streams, propaganda operations, recruitment efforts and attack planning worldwide, al-Aasam said.

ISIS's strength has "dwindled to a few hundred, with no foreign fighters remaining as before," he noted.

But he warned ISIS could potentially regroup in vast desert regions and the Hamreen hills, which run across several provincial borders in northeastern Iraq.

"Iraq stands ready to share its expertise and information with all international partners to prevent the spread of terrorism and deny safe havens," al-Aasam said.

"International solidarity and continued targeting of terrorists are necessary to prevent them from breaching security and harming innocent people."