Six ISIS leaders eliminated in airborne, special ops. in western Iraq
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The Iraqi Joint Operations Command announces the elimination of six top leaders of ISIS in a series of operations in the Anbar Desert at the end of August.
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Iraqi army units and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces forces advancing toward Mosul from Baghdad in the south (AFP)
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command announced the elimination of six high-ranking ISIS leaders in a series of operations in the Anbar Desert.
The statement from the Joint Operations Command today, Friday, confirmed the death of six top ISIS leaders through operations carried out in the Anbar Desert in late August.
The command detailed that "based on accurate intelligence and continuous technical and fieldwork on the part of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, with technical and logistical support and intelligence sharing from international coalition advisors and coordination and follow-up from the Joint Operations Command, Operation 'Lions' Leap' began on the morning of August 29, 2024, targeting ISIS leaders’ headquarters and hideouts in the Anbar Desert."
The statement further noted that "after Operation Lions' Leap came three ground operations and airborne troop landings planned and supervised by the Joint Operations Command and executed by the Counter-Terrorism Service, Special Forces unit, and Fifth Division units."
"All these operations achieved significant and substantial outcomes, leading to the killing of most of ISIS's first-line leaders," the statement confirmed.
"We seized weapons, ammunition, logistical and technical materials, computers, phones, and significant criminal evidence, detonated more than ten explosive belts, and controlled a number of explosives, as well as destroyed and burned seven vehicles used by ISIS leaders," it added.
The command explained that after conducting DNA tests on 14 ISIS bodies during these operations, the identified terrorist leaders were:
- Abu Sadeeq or Abu Muslim, real name: Ahmad Hamid Hussein Abdul Jalil Zawin - Deputy Wali (governor) of Iraq
- Mansour - Abu Ali al-Tunisi, real name: Omar bin Suwayh bin Salem Qara, known as the Emir of Manufacturing, Development, and Chemical Affairs
- Abu Hammam, real name: Saad Muhammad Nasser, known as the Wali (governor) of Anbar
- Shaker Harat al-Najdi, known as ISIS’ military leader in Anbar
- Abu Abd Hanoub or Abu Abdul Rahman, real name: Muammar Mahdi Khalaf Hussein, known as the Wali (governor) of the South
- Waqqas, real name: Ali Rabah Raja, known as the Communications Officer and Head of the Economy and Finances in the Anbar Province
This operation coincided with the launch of the seventh phase of Operation Swords of Righteousness, directed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and overseen and planned by the Joint Operations Command.
At the end of August, the Joint Operations Command of the Iraqi Armed Forces announced that it had managed to eliminate 14 terrorists in the Anbar Desert, noting that further details, names, and photos of the terrorists would be released after completing the DNA testing process.
Iraqi Joint Operations eliminate prominent ISIS leader in March
The Joint Operations Command in Iraq announced back in March of this year the elimination of ISIS leader Samir Khader al-Nimrawi, who was responsible for the transportation of terrorists, weapons, equipment, and explosives across the Iraqi-Syrian borders.
In a statement, the Joint Operations clarified that following a thorough investigation and cooperation of security forces and Iraqi intelligence with the Joint Operations Command, an important operation was conducted that successfully eliminated al-Nimrawi.
Al-Nimrawi, according to the statement, was directly responsible for the killing of many Iraqis and was one of the perpetrators whose hands were stained with the blood of innocent civilians in Anbar.
On March 19, the Iraqi National Intelligence Agency captured a terrorist web consisting of 11 ISIS members in Kirkuk, north of Baghdad.
The statement announcing the operation read, "With exceptional intelligence efforts and field follow-up, units of the intelligence agency responsible for combating terrorism in the Kirkuk Governorate carried out a qualitative operation, which resulted in the arrest of a terrorist network consisting of 11 members from ISIS terrorist gangs."
Read more: US-backed SDF transfer ISIS members from Raqqa to al-Hasakah: Sources
