US announces killing of 15 Islamic State fighters in Iraq

The US military, together with the Iraqi army, carried out a raid against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in western Iraq and killed fifteen of its fighters, the US Central Command for the Middle East (Centcom) announced on Friday, August 30, in a statement on X.

“This IS group was armed with numerous weapons, grenades and explosive belts. There is no indication that there were any civilian casualties.”adds Centcom.

The operation, carried out on Thursday morning but made public on Friday evening, “targeted ISIS leaders in order to disrupt and undermine ISIS’s ability to plan, organize, and carry out attacks against civilians in Iraq and against U.S. citizens, allies, and partners in the region and beyond.”specifies the American central command.

Centcom says Iraqi military “continue exploring the raid site”without giving further details on the operation. The EI “remains a threat to the region, our allies and our national territory”adds Centcom.

Seven American soldiers were injured in the raid, Centcom told Agence France-Presse on Friday night. They are “in stable condition”an official said.

Sporadic attacks by jihadist cells

The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and nearly 900 in Syria as part of the international coalition created to fight the Islamic State group. After its meteoric rise in 2014 and the conquest of vast territories in Iraq and neighboring Syria, the IS has seen its “caliphate” self-proclaimed collapse under the blow of successive offensives in these two countries.

If the Iraqi authorities have proclaimed their « victoire » against ISIS in late 2017, jihadist cells continue to sporadically attack soldiers and police, particularly in rural and remote areas outside major cities.

Iraq announced on August 15 the postponement of the end of the mission on its territory of the international anti-jihadist coalition led by Washington, justifying this delay by the “latest developments” in an explosive regional context.