Seven U.S. troopers had been injured; the Iraqi navy mentioned the airstrike killed key members of the group.
The US navy mentioned that 15 “Islamic State” militants had been killed in a joint assault with Iraqi safety forces in western Iraq.
Seven U.S. troopers had been injured throughout Thursday’s joint operation, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) mentioned in an announcement on Saturday.
The assault comes as the US and Iraq focus on joint safety missions within the nation.
Central Command mentioned on Channel X that the militants had been “geared up with numerous weapons, grenades and explosive ‘suicide’ belts.”
It didn’t report any civilian casualties.
A U.S. navy official advised The Related Press that 5 U.S. troopers had been injured through the operation and two others had been injured in falls. “All personnel are in secure situation,” the official mentioned.
“Islamic State stays a menace to the area, our allies, and our homeland,” Central Command mentioned, including that the US “will proceed to aggressively pursue these terrorists with coalition and Iraqi companions.”
The Iraqi navy mentioned “the airstrikes focused hideouts and had been adopted by airborne operations.”
“Among the many lifeless is the important thing [ISIL] leaders,” it added. “All hideouts, weapons and logistical help had been destroyed, explosive belts had been safely detonated, and essential paperwork, id paperwork and communications gear had been confiscated.”
The top date for the U.S.-led coalition preventing the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was not too long ago postponed.
Negotiations on the topic could not conclude till after the U.S. presidential election in November, in response to Reuters.
There are about 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, and its safety forces additionally embody militias aligned with Iran.
There are roughly 900 U.S. troops in Syria as a part of the coalition in opposition to the Islamic State.
Coalition forces have been repeatedly focused by drones and rocket assaults in Iraq and Syria as violence associated to Israel’s Gaza warfare that erupted in October 2023 attracted Iran-linked armed teams throughout the Center East.
Earlier this month, not less than 5 U.S. navy personnel had been injured in an assault on an Iraqi navy base.
From October to February, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-aligned teams, launched common drone assaults on U.S. navy bases in Iraq and Syria.
At its peak in 2014, “Islamic State” militants managed one-third of Iraq and Syria.
A coalition of greater than 80 international locations, led by the US, compelled the group to withdraw from its territory in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
However some militants stay in hiding, principally in distant areas, and proceed to hold out assaults whereas others elsewhere around the globe declare to have been impressed by the group.
