Iraq arrests Daesh member linked to deadly New Orleans attack

The Iraqi judiciary announced on Sunday the arrest of an "involved individual belonging" to Daesh who "incited" the vehicle-ramming attack that killed 14 people in New Orleans during New Year’s celebrations, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Read more: Who Is Shamsud-Din Jabbar? Investigating New Orleans attacker

At least 14 people were killed and around 30 others injured on January 1, when former US soldier Shamsuddin Jabbar, who, according to the FBI, had adopted Daesh ideology, drove his vehicle into a crowd of revelers celebrating the new year in the southern US city.

Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police, and the FBI initially suggested the attacker might have acted alone, though it had earlier considered the possibility of accomplices.

In a statement, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said, "An individual belonging to the ISIS terrorist organization who incited the vehicle-ramming incident has been arrested," after receiving "a request from the US for assistance in the investigation related to the attack."

The statement added that "the Karkh First Investigative Court (...) identified the suspect and arrested him in Iraq, as he is one of the members of the so-called ISIS External Operations Office," noting that the detainee "will be tried in Iraqi courts."

Read more: New Orleans attack claims life of Palestinian-American teenager

Although Iraqi forces declared victory over Daesh locally in 2017, remnants of the extremist group remain active in various parts of the country, carrying out attacks, particularly in remote areas far from urban centers.

A UN report issued earlier this year indicated that operations led by Iraqi authorities "resulted in the killing of half of ISIS’s senior leaders in the country."