BAGHDAD: The United States military and Iraq forces launched a joint raid targeting suspected Daesh militants in the country’s western desert that killed around 15 people and saw seven American personnel hurt in the operation, officials stated Saturday.
The US military’s Central Command claimed the militants were armed with “numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive ‘suicide’ belts” during the assault, which Iraqi troops said occurred in the country’s the Anbar Desert.
“This action targeted Daesh leaders to disrupt and degrade Daesh’ capacity to organize, plan, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, US citizens, allies, and partners across the region and beyond,” Central Command stated. It stated: “There is no sign of civilian casualties.”
The Associated Press reported later quoting the US military that seven American personnel were wounded in the joint raid. Five were injured in the operation while two others were hurt in falls, a US military official told the Associated Press. An Iraqi army statement said “strikes targeted the hideouts, followed by an operation.”
At its peak, the Daesh group ruled a region half the size of the UK. A coalition of over 80 nations, led by the US, was formed to fight the group, which lost its control on the territory it controlled in Iraq and 2017 and in Syria in 2019. However, the militants have continued to operate in the Anbar Desert in Iraq and Syria, while claiming assaults conducted by others elsewhere in the world. AP reported that the Daesh’s branch in Afghanistan is known to conduct intensely bloody attacks.
