Four Leaders of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group have died in a joint operation between U.S. and Iraqi forces in western Iraq last month, including the jihadist group’s chief of operations in the country, U.S. Central Command (Centcom) reported Friday.
The operation, according to a Centcom statement, targeted ISIS leaders and sought to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan, organize and execute attacks, both against Iraqi civilians and against citizens of the United States and its allies.
Therefore, 14 members of the Islamic State have diedfour of whom held management positions, according to Centcom.
The four leaders were identified as Ahmad al-Ithawi, head of Islamic State operations in Iraq; Abu Hammam, who oversaw operations in western Iraq; Abu Ali al-Tunisi, in charge of technical development; and Shakir al-Issawi, who led IS military operations in western Iraq.
The operation came at a time when Iraq and the United States negotiate the departure of foreign personnel from Iraqi territorywhile Baghdad considers that its presence is no longer necessary and could increase regional tensions, already high due to the war in Gaza.
So far, the United States has not announced a timetable for the withdrawal of its troops from the anti-jihadist alliance, created in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group (IS), which has come to occupy many regions of Iraq.
The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the coalition against ISIS.
