Baghdad, Jan 19 (IANS): A morbidly obese Islamic State (IS) fanatic has been captured by forces in Iraq, who had to load him onto a flatbed truck because he couldnt fit in a police car, the media reported.

Weighing 254 kg, Abu Abdul Bari, also known as 'Jabba the Jihadi', was nabbed on January 16 by an elite SWAT team of the Nineveh regiment in the city of Mosul, a New York Post report said.

Bari was known for "provocative speeches against the security forces" and is considered one of the top leaders of "IS gangs", Iraqi security officials said in a statement.

He issued religious decrees - or fatwas - ordering the execution of scholars and clerics who refused to pledge allegiance to the terror group when it had occupied the city, the statement added.

During the the group's self-styled caliphate in 2014, Bari also ordered the destruction of a mosque built at the site believed to be the burial place of the biblical prophet Jonah.