Meet one of Iraq's secret weapons in the battle against ISIS

Iraq's elite counterterrorism unit the Falcon Intelligence Cell "may be the most important organization on the front lines of the war on terrorism that almost no one has heard of," The New York Times reported Sunday. The agency placed spies inside the Islamic State's ranks and used that human intelligence to capture ISIS leaders and thwart hundreds of ISIS plots. "Its intelligence helped oust the extremists from their last urban strongholds last year and it now aids the hunt for the group's leaders, like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," the Times said, focusing on one spy in particular, Capt. Harith al-Sudani.

Sudani's "record was stunning," the Times reports, basing its article on interviews with the Falcons director, members of Sudani's unit, and his friends and family members, plus a review of transcripts, videos, and text messages. Over a span of 16 months "he had foiled 30 planned vehicle-bomb attacks and 18 suicide bombers, according to Abu Ali al-Basri, the agency's director. Capt. Sudani also gave the agency a direct line to some of the Islamic State's senior commanders in Mosul. A 36-year-old former computer tech, he was, agency officials said, perhaps Iraq's greatest spy, one of a few in the world to have infiltrated the upper reaches of the Islamic State."

The fact that everybody is talking to one of the world's most-read newspapers about an undercover operative hints at Sudani's fate, but his story is a fascinating chapter in the history of post-war Iraq. Read the entire article at The New York Times.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up