BAGHDAD: A joint operation by US and Iraqi forces killed 15 Islamic State group militants in Iraq’s western desert, with seven US troops hurt during the operation, US Central Command said on Saturday.

The raid carried out on Thursday resulted “in the death of 15 ISIS operatives” with “no indication of civilian casualties”, CENTCOM said.

Five US troops were wounded during the raid and another two injured in falls, a defence official said. All seven were in stable condition, official said.

The CENTCOM statement was posted on Saturday, 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 from the air before helicopters landed commandos at the sites, the intelligence services said.

The Iraqi military often carried out operations against IS with the support of military advisers from a US-led coalition deployed to Iraq and Syria. The US has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the coalition against IS, though Iraqi security forces insist they are capable of tackling IS unassisted.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2024