[Rudaw] The US army announced on Saturday that four suspected Islamic State
 ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) leaders were killed in a recent joint raid with the Iraqi security forces in western Iraq, including one responsible for the group’s all operations in the country.
The joint raid took place in Anbar province on August 29. US and Iraqi armies have provided conflicting numbers about ISIS corpse count, with the US Central Command (CENTCOM) initially putting the number at 15 and now it says 14 were killed. Iraq initially said 14 were killed but later said the number had increased to 16.
The US army said that four of them were ISIS leaders responsible for the group's operations and technical development in Iraq.
"As part of the on-going post-raid assessment, CENTCOM can confirm that four ISIS leaders were killed including: Ahmad Hamid Husayn Abd-al-Jalil al-Ithawi, responsible for all operations in Iraq, Abu Hammam, responsible for overseeing all operations in Western Iraq, Abu-’Ali al-Tunisi, responsible for overseeing technical development, and Shakir Abud Ahmad al-Issawi, responsible for overseeing military operations in Western Iraq," said CENTCOM in a statement.
"This operation targeted ISIS leaders and served to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as U.S. citizens, allies, and partners throughout the region and beyond," it added.
The operation was centered around Anbar province’s Wadi al-Ghadaf, described by the Iraqi military as an "important den" for ISIS remnants in the country.
Seven US personnel were maimed in the operation.
| Update from the Times of Israel at 12:15 p.m. ET: |
Iraqi and US forces kill top ISIS commander in joint operation
US Treasury had offered $5 million for info on Abu Ali Al-Tunisi; several other prominent members of terror group killed; troops seized weapons, computers, phones,10 explosive belts
Iraqi forces and American troops have killed a senior commander with the Islamic State group who was wanted by the United States, as well as several other prominent militants, Iraq’s military said on Friday.
The operation in Iraq’s western Anbar province began in late August, the Iraqi military said, and also involved members of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service and Iraq’s air force.
Among the dead was an ISIS commander from Tunisia, known as Abu Ali Al-Tunisi, for whom the US Treasury Department had offered $5 million for information. Also killed was Ahmad Hamed Zwein, the IS deputy commander in Iraq.
Despite their defeat, attacks by ISIS sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria have been on the rise over the past years, with scores of people killed or wounded.
Friday’s announcement was not the first news of the operation.
Two weeks ago, an official said that the United States military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected ISIS militants in the country’s western desert that killed at least 15 people and left seven American troops hurt.
Five of the American troops were wounded in the raid itself, while two others suffered injuries from falls during the operation. One who suffered a fall was transported out of the region, while one of the wounded was evacuated for further treatment, a US defense official said at the time, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation that had not yet been made public.
In Friday’s announcement, the Iraqi military said the operation also confiscated weapons and computers, smart phones and 10 explosive belts. It added that 14 ISIS commanders were identified after DNA tests were conducted. It made no mention of the 15th person killed and whether that person had also been identified.
|
