US Central Command claimed on Friday that a raid it conducted with Iraqi forces in Western Iraq last month killed four ISIS leaders.
Seven US troops were wounded in the raid, which was carried out on August 29. CENTCOM initially said 15 ISIS “operatives” were killed in the operation but revised the death toll to 14.
CENTCOM said in a press release that it “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.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has been calling for an end to the US-led anti-ISIS coalition and has repeatedly said that Iraqi security forces can handle ISIS remnants without the US. He reiterated this point in a meeting with the head of the US-led coalition just a few days after the August 29 raid.
“The remnants of ISIS no longer pose a threat to the Iraqi state, as they have become isolated groups hiding in remote areas to avoid capture,” al-Sudani said on September 1.
Despite al-Sudani’s position, US military forces continue to be involved in operations against ISIS. The continued US presence in Iraq and the occupation of Syria put US troops in danger of attacks from elements in both countries who want the US to leave. American soldiers were wounded in rocket and drone attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria in two separate incidents last month.
Back in January, three US troops were killed in a drone attack on Tower 22, a secretive base in Jordan on the Syrian border, the culmination of hundreds of attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria that started in response to US support for the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.
While American troops have been killed and wounded in combat this year, Vice President Kamala Harris falsely claimed in her debate with former President Trump that no US soldiers were deployed in a war zone. “As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century,” she said.
