Iraqi counter-terrorism troops kill Islamic State members in Syria
A picture shows Islamic State military doing a military exercise
Speaking on condition of anonymity to Alghad Press, the source said “the elite couter-terrorism forces as well as the U.S. Commandos carried out an operation on the Iraqi-Syrian borders and killed Islamic State leaders.”
The operation, according to the source, “were carried out in regions of the Syrian al-Bu Kamal and Hasaka, depending on information from the Iraqi and Syrian intelligence, backed by the U.S. Commandos.”
The Iraqi-Syrian borders are under the control of joint troops of military and border guards. Iraq had previously announced launching airstrikes against IS locations in Syria.
Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016.
Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country. The group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.
In December, Iraq announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.