Kurdish officials deport Japanese journalist over ISIS links

BAGHDAD -- Kurdish officials deported a Japanese journalist on Monday whose work on fundamentalist movements and close relationship with extremists has often aggravated authorities.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council accused Kosuke Tsuneoka of having a militant nom de guerre, Shamil, and said he was detained over alleged links to the Islamic State group.

Tsuneoka was picked up near Mount Zerdk, east of Mosul -- the final IS stronghold in Iraq -- on Oct. 27, the council said in a statement. They later handed him over to Japanese authorities.

A Middle East specialist and war zone veteran, Tsuneoka has been detained in several countries because of his proximity to Islamic militants. Photos of him posing with fighters and even holding a weapon in front of the black flag often carried by IS and al-Qaida are abundant on social media.