Donald Trump said on Thursday that five “most wanted” leaders of the Islamic State militant group had been captured, an apparent reference to the capture of five commanders of the militant group by Iraq.

“Five Most Wanted leaders of ISIS just captured!” Trump wrote on Twitter, providing no further details.

Five Most Wanted leaders of ISIS just captured! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2018

Iraq had described the capture of the Isis commanders as “some of the most wanted” leaders of the group. The list did not include Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.



The US-led coalition said that Iraqi forces working with US-backed Syrian rebels had captured five senior Isis leaders.

In a statement Thursday coalition spokesman Army Col. Ryan Dillon called the arrest a “significant blow to Daesh,” using the Arabic acronym for the extremist group.

Earlier on Thursday, the New York Times reported that the five suspects including an aide to Baghdadi had been captured following a three-month operation carried out by Iraqi and US intelligence agencies.



The operation tracked senior Isis leaders who had been in hiding in Syria and Turkey, the report said.

