Iraqi spy chief discusses IS and intel cooperation
Al-Monitor was granted an exclusive interview with the head of Iraq’s secretive counterterrorism intelligence unit, Abu Ali al-Basri. The Falcon Intelligence Cell director discussed what remains of the Islamic State, potential future risks and how the unit shares information with other countries.
BAGHDAD — The head of Iraq’s Falcon Intelligence Cell knocked sharply on a wooden table nearby, saying the unit had lost "less than a handful of men’’ in its operations against al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) over the years.
He told Iraqi media July 29 that Islamic State (IS) commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is currently in Syria and retains significant influence despite serious spinal injuries.
The injuries were reportedly sustained in a joint operation between his unit and the Iraqi Air Force last year in Hejin in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province.
In an interview with Al-Monitor in his Baghdad office on July 19, Abu Ali al-Basri said the cell had lost ‘’less than a handful of men’’ in their operations against al-Qaeda and IS over the years.
