Top IS recruiter held in Australia

Australia said in May that Neil Prakash, who was linked to several Australia-based attack plans, was killed in an air strike in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29. The New York Times said Prakash was wounded in the attack and arrested by a Middle East government “in the last few weeks”. The Australian Broadcasting Corp, citing Turkish and Australian officials, said he was arrested in Turkey. 

Australian Attorney-General George Brandis, who announced Prakash’s death in May, declined to comment on “matters of intelligence or law enforcement operations”. Justice Minister Michael Keenan said in an email response to Reuters that the government’s “capacity to confirm reports of deaths in either Syria or Iraq is limited”. 

Melbourne-born Prakash had appeared in Islamic State videos and magazines and had actively recruited Australian men, women and children and encouraged acts of terrorism. Australia last year announced financial sanctions against Prakash, including threatening anyone giving financial assistance with punishment of up to 10 years in jail.

Iraqi hospital and police officials say the death toll from a car bombing south of Baghdad claimed by the Islamic State group has risen to 73, including about 40 Iranian pilgrims. The officials said that 65 people were wounded in the attack. Earlier, they had put the death toll from Thursday night’s bombing at 56. The attack took place at a gas station on a major highway near the city of Hilla. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media. IS claimed the attack in a statement, saying it was a suicide truck bomb. The bombing appears to have targeted a bus with Iranian pilgrims heading home after a major Shiite religious observance in the holy city of Karbala.