Defence Departement: US forces assist Iraqi-led operation against ISIS in Al-Anbar Province

Shafaq News/ US forces supported an Iraqi-led operation against ISIS fighters in Iraq’s Al-Anbar province, with no reported injuries among US personnel, Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh announced.

“Our assessment of the operation is that there were no US personnel injured,” Singh confirmed, adding that additional details would follow soon.

Updating on two US service members wounded in a partnered raid on October 22, Singh detailed that Iraqi security forces, aided by personnel from Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), conducted “strikes and follow-on raids on multiple ISIS locations in central Iraq,” targeting senior ISIS figures and resulting in the deaths of at least seven ISIS operatives. She explained that during the mission, “two US military personnel were wounded by an explosion while assisting Iraqi forces with site exploitation.”

When asked about the growing frequency of these joint raids and the risks to US troops, Singh underscored the dangerous nature of the operations. “Even though they’re Iraqi-led, they are still US personnel… in an area where there’s dangerous activity,” she said, acknowledging that explosive traps are a significant threat, as seen in recent missions.

Singh also addressed concerns about ISIS’s persistence in the region, clarifying that while ISIS no longer holds the strength it did a decade ago, it remains an active threat in Iraq and Syria. “ISIS is not what it was… but they still remain a threat, which is why we do these partnered raids with the Iraqi security forces,” she stated.