...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
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS) fighters, including key leaders, following
...KABOOM!...
s on the group's hideout in the western Anbar province.
''At 4:00 am on Thursday, August 29, 2024 — successive and surprising airstrikes were carried out on all the hideouts,'' read a statement from the Joint Operations Command.
''After festivities with those fleeing the airstrikes at several hideouts, the number of dead ISIS elements defeated in the deserts and caves reached 14 terrorists, some of whom were wearing boom belts and carrying hand grenades,'' it added.
The operation was carried out in cooperation and technical coordination with the International Coalition, according to the statement.
The JOC also noted that among the dead were ''key leaders from the top ranks'' of ISIS, adding that all the hideouts of the group along with their weapons and logistics support were destroyed.
ISIS rose to power and seized control of large swathes of Iraqi territory during a brazen offensive in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017, when its so-called caliphate in the country fell to Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, supported by the US-led international coalition.
Despite its territorial defeat, the group continues to carry out hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions in several provinces, particularly in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, which stretch across the provinces of Salahaddin, Diyala, Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
and Nineveh.
| Update from the Times of Israel at 8:00 a.m. ET: |
CENTCOM says it faced ISIS militants armed with ‘numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive ‘suicide’ belts’ during Thursday op in Anbar Desert; Iraq says key ISIS leaders killed
The United States military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected Islamic State group gunnies in the country’s western desert that killed at least 15 people and saw seven American troops hurt in the operation, officials said Saturday.
For years after dislodging the gunnies from their self-declared caliphate across Iraq and Syria, US forces have fought the Islamic State group, though the casualties from the raid were higher than others in the time since.
The US military’s Central Command alleged the gunnies were armed with "numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive ’suicide’ belts" during the attack Thursday, which Iraqi forces said happened in the country’s Anbar Desert.
"This operation targeted ISIS leaders to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as US citizens, allies, and partners throughout the region and beyond," Central Command said, using an acronym for the bully boy group. "Iraqi Security Forces continue to further exploit the locations raided."
It added: "There is no indication of civilian casualties."
An Iraqi military statement said "
...KABOOM!...
s targeted the hideouts, followed by an airborne operation."
"Among the dead were key ISIS leaders," Iraq’s military said, without identifying them. "All hideouts, weapons, and logistical support were destroyed, boom belts were safely detonated and important documents, identification papers and communication devices were seized."
A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
to discuss details of the operation yet to be made public, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that five American troops were maimed in the raid, while two others suffered injuries from falls in the operation. One who suffered a fall was transported out of the Mideast, while one of the maimed was evacuated for further treatment, the official said.
"All personnel are in stable, pH balanced condition," the official said.
It wasn’t immediately clear why it took two days for the US to acknowledge it took part in the raid. Iraq did not say the US took part in the operation when initially announcing it, as politicians debate the future of having American troops in the country. There are approximately 2,500 US troops in the country.