Iraqi troops have detained the deputy of dead IS commander Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in an "external operation," the prime minister revealed, two years after US special operations killed the Islamist leader.

In a tweet on Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi stated that Iraqi intelligence forces had conducted an operation and successfully apprehended a high-ranking IS member named Sami Jasim. Sami Jasim Muhammad al-Jaburi is believed to be his full name.

Jasim was the deputy of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the group's murdered leader who was killed by US special operations in northern Syria in 2019.

"While our ISF [Iraqi security forces] heroes were focusing on securing the elections, their INIS [Iraqi national intelligence services] colleagues were conducting a complex external operation to capture Sami Jasim, the head of Daesh finance and a deputy of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi," Al-Kadhimi wrote on Twitter. "Long live Iraq, and long live our valiant heroes."

In September 2015, the US Treasury Department named Jasim as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, citing him as a critical figure in the group's financial management.

According to Washington, when the caliphate gained territory in Syria and Iraq, he was credited with directing the caliphate's oil and gas, antiquities, and mineral resources operations. Jasim attempted to leverage oil as a new source of funding for the organization.

Al-revelation Kadhimi's came just hours after Iraq's fifth election, which took place 18 years after the US and its allies deposed Saddam Hussein. According to reports, there was a record-low turnout due to widespread dissatisfaction with the condition of Iraqi politics.