Iraqi authorities have reportedly arrested Abdulnasser al-Qirdash, an ISIS commander said to be a favored candidate to succeed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in 2019 in a raid by US special forces in northwestern Syria.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that Qirdash has been detained, a statement from the Iraqi National Intelligence Service said, without specifying the time or location of his arrest.

Qirdash had served as the terrorist group’s head of the negotiations committee, the Iraqi News Agency reported.

He had also worked within the organization during the time of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Most recently, Qirdash was in charge of the battles for al-Baghouz in Syria, the agency said.