Lion's Leap Operation: Six key ISIS leaders killed in Al-Anbar desert

Shafaq News/ On Friday, the Joint Operations Command (JOC) revealed the identities of six ISIS leaders killed in an operation in the Lion's Leap Operation in Al-Anbar desert.

Lion's Leap Operation

On August 29, 2024, at dawn, the Lion's Leap operation was initiated in Al-Anbar desert based on precise intelligence, ongoing technical and field efforts by the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS), as well as logistical and technical support and intelligence sharing from International Coalition advisors.

The operation, coordinated and supervised by the JOC, targeted ISIS leaders' headquarters and hideouts and included three ground assaults and an airborne deployment, with meticulous planning and execution by the Counter-Terrorism Service, the Special Forces, and the 5th Division units.

The JOC announced in a statement, "These operations killed most of ISIS’s first-line leaders, seizing weapons, ammunition, logistical and technical materials, computers, phones, and important criminal evidence, and detonating more than 10 explosive belts.”

“Several bombs and explosives were controlled, and seven different vehicles used by ISIS leaders were destroyed and burned."

Identities of ISIS Fatalities

Following DNA testing on 14 ISIS corpses killed during these operations, the command identified the terrorist leaders as follows:

1. Ahmed Hamid Hussein Abdul Jalil Zwain (Known as Abu Sadiq or Abu Muslim,) he served as the Deputy Governor of Iraq.

2. Omar bin Suwaih bin Salem Qarah (Known as Mansour - Abu Ali Al-Tunisi,) described as the King of Manufacturing, Development, and Chemical Affairs

3. Saad Mohammed Nasser (Known as Abu Hamam,) served as Al-Anbar Governor.

4. Shaker Hiraat al-Najdi, described as ISIS Military Commander in Al-Anbar

5. Moammar Mahdi Khalaf Hussein (known as Abu Abed Hanoub or Abu Abed al-Rahman,) he was the Governor of the South

6. Ali Rabah Raja , (Known as Waqas,) described as Communication Officer and responsible for economic and financial affairs in the governorate.

ISIS Remnants Persistence

Despite losing its territorial stronghold in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, ISIS militants continue to operate in remote areas, including Al-Anbar desert, where they attempt to regroup and launch attacks.