Iraqi and US forces kill a top IS commander and other militants in joint operation

BAGHDAD (AP) — 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 involved also members of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service and Iraq’s air force.

Among the dead was an IS commander from Tunisia, known as Abu Ali Al-Tunisi, for whom the U.S. 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 IS 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, official has said that the United States military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected IS 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 U.S. 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 IS 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.

The Islamic State group seized territory at the height of its power and declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 but was defeated in Iraq in 2017. In March 2019, the extremists lost the last sliver of land they once controlled in eastern Syria.

At its peak, the group ruled an area half the size of the United Kingdom where it enforced its extreme interpretation of Islam, which included attacks on religious minority groups and harsh punishment of Muslims deemed to be apostates.

Despite their defeat, attacks by IS sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria have been on the rise over the past years, killing and wounding scores of people.

The U.S. military has not commented on the August raid.

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Central Command said its forces killed an IS attack cell member in a strike in eastern Syria. It added that the individual was planting an improvised explosive device for a planned attack against anti-IS coalition forces and their partners, an apparent reference to Syria’s Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

In August last year, the U.S. had agreed to enter into talks to transition U.S. and anti-IS coalition forces from their long-standing role in assisting Iraq in combating IS. There are approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in the country, and their departure will take into account the security situation on the ground, and the capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces.

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Mroue reported from Beirut.