Shehab, who is accused in Sweden of ordering a mass shooting of six young people in Gävle last year, was arrested by Iraqi authorities at the start of December.

"One of the effects of a person being sentenced to life imprisonment in Iraq is that they cannot commit a crime on Swedish soil anymore," Sweden's state prosecutor Helene Gestrin told the TT newswire after she confirmed reports that Shebab has been jailed.

Sex personer har skadats i en skottlossning i centrala Gävle natten mot lördag. Skottlossningen skedde på en gata i centrala Gävle med butiker och restauranger. En pojke under 15 år har gripits misstänkt i ärendet.

Foto: Jonas Ekströmer / TT / Kod 10030

Shehab, 22, is seen as a key figure in Foxtrot who is closely allied to the gang's leader Rawa Majid, who is currently believed to be based in Iran.

Gestrin told TT that Shehab has been charged in his absence for ordering murders in Lund, Gävle, and Norsborg, in addition to "a number of other extremely serious crimes".

From his base in Iraq, she said, he had attempted to order young people in Sweden to carry out a string of murders over social media.

"He or another person have made contact with them over social media and then continued to contact them and given instructions on what to do, how to do it, where to do, how to get the weapons etc," she said.

Shehab is believed to have been found guilty of drug crimes in Iraq, possibly in connection with gang criminality in Sweden, although Gestrin said that Swedish prosecutors had not yet been informed of the exact charges.

She said Swedish and Iraqi police had worked closely on the case. She said it was unclear how Shebab's incarceration would impact upon ongoing cases in which he is implicated.