January 20, 2020, 04:05 PM
An obese ISIS religious leader, Shifa al-Nima, who was recently arrested in Mosul, Iraq, had to be loaded onto the back of a lorry as he was too large to fit into a police car, Jordanian media Albawaba reported.
Weighed at least 136kg
According to Israeli media Jerusalem Post (JP) al-Nima had been arrested by an Iraqi SWAT team and was photographed wedged against the back of the lorry's mounted machine gun prior to being transported to prison.
He reportedly weighed at least 300lbs (136kg).
His capture is considered a major blow against the terrorist organisation in recent months due to his position as its top religious authority in issuing fatwas, independent media Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reported.
However, it is unclear how he was removed from his hiding place.
Ordered the destruction of the Tomb of Jonah
All three media sources reported that al-Nima was responsible for ordering the destruction of the Tomb of Jonah/Yunus in Mosul in July 2014, an iconic monument in Iraq.
The historic mosque of Prophet Yunus (Jonah) in Mosul, #Iraq before & after ISIS pic.twitter.com/PjLKGRCt55
— Med (@Dejaily) July 24, 2014
He had also issued fatwas that resulted in the murder of multiple scholars and clerics, and advocated slavery, rape, torture and ethnic cleansing.
Latest photos for #ISIS Mufti. He was the strongest supporter of demolishing Mosul heritage. He used to give the Friday Sermon in my neighborhood. He cheered up in the very Friday after the blowing of Prophet Jonah Mosque in the early days of their invasion.
— Ali Al-Baroodi علي البارودي (@AliBaroodi) January 16, 2020
📷 Social media https://t.co/VWOCR4nmJE pic.twitter.com/zGYoVSuAaF
Many citizens of Mosul have also stated that they have terrible memories of the religious leader due to his staunch support for the destruction of Mosul's heritage.
Comparisons drawn to Jabba the Hutt
al-Nima's weight has since drawn comparisons to the fictional slug-like crime lord Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars.
ISIS' very own 'Jabba the Hutt’ captured in Iraq https://t.co/uTYDnsl2Lj
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) January 17, 2020
https://twitter.com/MaajidNawaz/status/1217998204836503553
https://twitter.com/jer2911tx/status/1217936630104973312
He was also given the moniker "Jabba the Jihadi" by the New York Post.
ISIS leader dubbed 'Jabba the Jihadi' captured in Iraq https://t.co/tteXwlaOwx pic.twitter.com/DLPhs5ANHQ
— New York Post (@nypost) January 17, 2020
ISIS still remains a threat in Iraq
Both JP and MEMO reported that ISIS still remains a threat in Iraq as it still has multiple sleeper cells and members hiding out in caves and rural parts of the country.
Additionally, King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein of Jordan has also warned that ISIS is re-emerging, according to Iraqi media Kurdistan 24.
As per Abdullah II:
"We have seen over the past year, the re-establishment and rise of ISIS, not only in southern, eastern Syria but also in western Iraq."
However, efforts at combating ISIS have since been hampered by ongoing tensions between U.S. and Iran.
Top image collage from Ali Baroodi Twitter.
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