Following up on overnight reports that they’d carried out airstrikes against an ISIS target in eastern Syria, the Iraqi Army is reporting on Friday that 28 ISIS members were slain, labeling them all ‘potential suicide bombers.’
Previously labeled as an ISIS “operations room,” Iraqi officials are now saying they carried out two separate targets in Syria, killing 20 ISIS in the first strike, and eight others in the second. Both were sites in Syria, near the border.
Iraqi officials say they believe the ISIS meetings were to discuss potential attacks for the Eid al-Adha holiday next week, and were likely to be conducted in Iraq. The border is relatively easy to cross between Iraq and Syria in remote areas, so it’s not uncommon for ISIS to work on both sides.
Absent in official reports are any suggestion that Iraq coordinated these attacks with the Assad government in Syria. Though cross-border strikes are not unheard of here, generally Iraq emphasizes that it does so in full coordination with the Syrians.