The Kurdistan Region Security Council announced the arrest of a "high-profile terrorist" who was close to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In a statement, the council identified the suspect as "Socrates Khalil, also known as (Abdullah al-Tafkheekh)," noting that he was a "close and trusted person of the ISIS caliph." He joined ISIS in 2013 and was involved in bomb-making, playing a significant role in the occupation of Mosul in June 2014.
In his confessions, Socrates mentioned that he joined the al-Jazira camp where he trained in combat, and then participated in the "invasion of Mosul," stating that their numbers did not exceed 300 at the time, and that the fighting was very intense. He recounted that they entered the Al-Rifai area for two to three days amidst clashes with security forces, during which "Abu Lyth (the group leader) ordered one of them to rig a large vehicle with explosives and detonate it against the security forces, leading to mass casualties and then the collapse in Mosul."
In the video published by the Kurdistan Region Security Council, he explained that he entered Syria from Al-Bukamal departing from the city of Al-Qaim, and called for "Haji Abdullah," who was then al-Baghdadi's deputy, asking him to return to Mosul to retrieve money. From there, he "crossed into Turkey via intimidation and then to Iran and subsequently to Iraq," as he stated.
He continued, "I stayed with a merchant who dealt with ISIS in Kirkuk for 25 days, then entered the old city of Mosul due to my familiarity with the area and retrieved a specified amount of money totaling 5 million dollars, then returned to Kirkuk in the morning." The money was taken from him by an ISIS member named "Abu Ghaffar" in the Al-Hadr area. According to his confession, he decided to travel to Turkey, and months later returned to Iraq to settle in either Kirkuk or Baghdad, but was unable to do so, then went back to Turkey and after 5 years decided to return to settle in the Kurdistan Region, but was arrested with a fake identity and passport.
