Iraqi airstrike eliminates key ISIS leaders in Kirkuk

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Military Intelligence Directorate announced, on Saturday, the elimination of five senior ISIS leaders in a precision airstrike in Kirkuk's Zagaitoun Valley. The operation, executed using F-16 aircraft, targeted a strategic ISIS hideout based on intelligence inputs.

“The strike claimed the lives of high-ranking members, including Abu Jawar, administrative assistant for ISIS’s so-called Kirkuk Province; Abu Musab, commander of the Rashad detachment; and Abu Hudhaifa, the province's media officer. Two additional fighters were also killed,” as per a statement by the directorate.

“The hideout was completely destroyed, and light and medium weapons, ammunition, logistical supplies, and two explosive belts were found and eliminated.”

According to the statement, “Following the strike, a combined force from the 1st Battalion of the 63rd Special Forces Brigade and the 11th Division's Reconnaissance Battalion searched the site early Saturday, confirming the deaths of all five militants.”

Although ISIS lost its territorial foothold in Iraq in 2017, the group remains active, particularly in Kirkuk, where it employs guerrilla tactics such as bombings and abductions. Iraqi security forces, with support from the Global Coalition, have ramped up efforts to neutralize the group’s remnants.