Last month’s raid In Iraq’s western Anbar Province resulted in the death of four top ISIS commanders, U.S. Central Command announced. The Aug. 29 mission, one of the biggest raids carried out under Operation Inherent Resolve, took out the terror group’s top commander in Iraq and 13 other fighters, and left seven American servicemembers injured.
The dawn operation, a joint mission by American and Iraqi forces, targeted ISIS’s headquarters in the Anbar Province and guest houses. On Friday, Sept. 13, CENTCOM confirmed that among the 14 dead were Ahmad Hamid Husayn Abd-al-Jalil al-Ithawi, head of operations in Iraq, as well as the western Iraq commander Abu Hamman and western Iraq military commander Shakir Abud Ahmad al-Issawi.
Also killed was Tunisian national Abu-‘Ali al-Tunisi, described by CENTCOM as “responsible for overseeing technical development.” The U.S Treasury Department had previously put a $5 million reward out for information on him. According to Iraqi security forces on the social media platform X, the raid also killed ISIS’s second in command for Iraq, Ahmed Hamed Hussein Abdul Jalil Zwain, and Ali Rabah Raja also known as ‘Waqas,’ who oversaw communications and finances in the Anbar Province.
“CENTCOM remains committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS, who continues to threaten the United States, our allies and partners, and regional stability,” CENTCOM head Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement.
When U.S. Central Command announced the successful raid a day later on Aug. 30, it was scant on details. Iraq’s military, posting to the social media site X concurrently, said that four ISIS commanders were killed. The mission saw both a ground assault on the safehouses as well as airborne landings. After the fighting stopped, American and Iraqi troops were able to seize weapons, ammunition and explosive belts. They destroyed several cars used by ISIS as well. Additionally, it was an intelligence success, recovering multiple phones, computers and other tools used by the group to coordinate.
The raid left seven American servicemembers injured. According to officials, five Americans were wounded in direct combat, while the other two injured were hurt during falls. It’s unclear if there were any Iraqi casualties.
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The raid was a massive undertaking, involving more than 200 troops from the United States and Iraqi militaries, according to the New York Times. At least 100 were from American special operations forces. The United States currently has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria. According to Iraq’s military, after the ISIS members were killed, DNA evidence was used to confirm the identities of the deceased.
The U.S. military originally reported that 15 ISIS fighters were killed, although Iraqi security forces said 14, including some commanders. It’s not clear why a higher number of ISIS casualties was originally given. The new details from CENTCOM confirm the numbers, and their identities.
Iraq carried out several additional operations in the Anbar Province following the Aug. 29 raid, going after safehouses and ISIS members in the area.
The terror group has been stepping up its activities this year. The first half of 2024 saw the group carry out 153 attacks in Iraq and Syria, according to CENTCOM, well above the number at the same time in 2023. In the first half of this year, the U.S. and partner forces conducted nearly 200 anti-ISIS operations. Soon after the Aug. 29th raid, American and Syrian partners captured an ISIS commander in Syria responsible for a prison break inside the country.
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