Iraqi airstrikes kill senior ISIS commander in Saladin

ShafaqNews- Baghdad

Iraqi F-16 fighter jets carried out four airstrikes targeting ISIS compounds and hideouts in Wadi al-Shay, killing a senior commander of the group, a security source familiar with the operation told Shafaq News on Wednesday.

The strikes, based on intelligence, targeted the commander known as “Abu Osama,” who was described as one of the most prominent field commanders wanted by Iraqi authorities and a senior leader of ISIS’s so-called Kirkuk Province, the source added. 

Kirkuk security forces killed 43 ISIS militants in 2025, according to the former operations commander, while Iraqi forces have continued raids, airstrikes and clearance operations throughout 2026. In August alone, security forces destroyed eight ISIS hideouts within the Kirkuk Operations Command’s area of responsibility, while three Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a roadside bombing near Wadi Al-Shay.