The authorities of Iraq's Kurdish region on Monday (November 7th) handed over a Japanese national detained last month on suspicion of ties to the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL), AFP reported.

"A Japanese national, Mr. Kohsuke Tsuneoka, also known by the nom de guerre Shamil K. Tsuneoka, was detained... for links to ISIL," a statement from the Kurdish Region Security Council said.

He was detained near Mount Zardak, a strategic hill east of the city of Mosul, on October 27th, the council said.

"An investigation by our Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) found he was in contact with ISIL members through his smartphone," the statement said.

"Our security services remained in dialogue with Japanese authorities throughout his detention about the potential charges against him. It was decided to hand over Mr. Tsuneoka to Japanese authorities," it said.

Tsuneoka left the country Monday via the main airport in Erbil.

He was described in local media reports at the time of his arrest as a journalist who had come to the region to cover the offensive on Mosul.