Iraq-US joint raid kills 15 IS fighters

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Afp September 01, 2024

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BAGHDAD:

A joint operation by US and Iraqi forces killed 15 Islamic State group fighters in Iraq's western desert, with seven US troops hurt during the operation, US Central Command said.

The raid targeted Islamic State leaders and was carried out early Thursday morning, resulting "in the death of 15 ISIS operatives" with "no indication of civilian casualties," CENTCOM said.

It said the IS fighters were "armed with numerous weapons, grenades and explosive 'suicide' belts", and that Iraqi forces were continuing "to further exploit the locations raided".

Five US troops were wounded during the raid and another two injured in falls, a defence official said. One of the wounded was evacuated for treatment, as was one of the personnel injured in a fall.

All seven were in stable condition, the official said.

The CENTCOM statement was posted early on Saturday, hours after the Iraqi authorities put out their own statement on the raid.

The Iraqi intelligence services said "more than two months of human and technological surveillance" had allowed the identification of "four safe houses" used by the jihadists.

They said the dead "likely included senior leaders", adding that forensic tests were under way.

The suspected IS safe houses were all hit repeatedly from the air before helicopters landed commandos at the sites, the intelligence services said.

The Iraqi military regularly announces operations against IS hideouts in remote desert or mountain areas.

They are currently still carried out with the support of military advisers from a US-led coalition deployed to Iraq and neighbouring Syria a decade ago when the power of IS was at its peak.

Baghdad and Washington have been engaged in months of talks over the future of anti-jihadist coalition forces in Iraq.

Despite Iraq's stated goal of a full withdrawal of the forces, no timeline has been made public

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