An obese ISIS 'mufti' arrested in Iraq is so heavy that he had to be loaded onto the back of a truck to be transported.

Shifa al-Nima, considered one of the biggest captures in recent months, was hauled from his Mosul bolthole by Iraqi security forces after he was discovered.

Dubbed Jabba the Hutt after the slug-like Star Wars villain, the religious leader issued fatwas, or religious rulings, that led to the execution of scholars and clerics and the destruction of an ancient tomb in the city.

Shifa al-Nima, considered one of the biggest captures in recent months, was hauled from his Mosul bolthole by Iraqi security forces after he was discovered

The terrorist, who could not be transported in a police car, was pictured wedged against a mounted machine gun in the open back of a vehicle last night.

It is unclear how the man, reported to weigh at least 300lbs, was removed from his hiding place.

Iraqi police said the 'mufti' is considered one of ISIS's foremost leaders.

al-Nima, who is also known as Abu Abdul-Bari, has been accused of ordering the destruction of the tomb of the Prophet Yunus, or Jonah, in Mosul, which was carried out in 2014.

The ancient shrine was thought to be the final resting place of the prophet by both Christians and Muslims.

After establishing the terrorist was too big to go in a police car, security forces loaded him onto the back of a truck

A Briton who fought against ISIS in Syria, Macer Gifford, tweeted: 'I'm delighted to say that the Islamic State's very own Jabba the Hutt has been captured in Mosul.

'Responsible for the execution of men, women and children. This animal raped and murdered.'

British activist and counter-extremist think-tank founder, Maajid Nawaz, welcomed the arrest and said: 'It is good that Syrians, Iraqis and others witness the debasement of this s***.

'That he is obese, this immobile and this humiliated is yet another blow to ISIS imbeciles who thought God was with them.

'Cue: Jabba the Hutt jokes. It was a good day for the Force and a bad day for evil.'