2 Senior ISIS Members Killed in Iraqi Strikes on Hamrin Mountains
Two senior ISIS commanders were killed in an Iraqi air strike in the Hamrin Mountain range, in the Salah al-Din province, announced the Iraqi Security Media Cell (SMC) on Saturday.
The operation was carried out based on intelligence information provided by the Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency (FIIA) at the Ministry of Interior to the Iraqi Air Force.
ISIS hideouts were destroyed in the operation.
Terrorists Mohammed Rashid Jassim, known as Abu Hudhaifa, and Abu Fatima Askari, were killed in the attack.
The statement said Abu Fatima is the commander of ISIS in the Salah al-Din province. He was considered to be one of the most dangerous terrorists for his operations against security forces and civilians in recent years.
In a related development, the SMC announced the killing of four terrorists on the banks of Hamrin Lake in the Diyala province.
Three of the terrorists were killed in two air strikes while the fourth was killed during clashes with security forces.
The forces also destroyed three motorcycles, a number of explosive devices, explosive material, and two terrorist hideouts.
Asked whether ISIS was still a threat in Iraq, head of the Center for Strategic Studies Dr. Moataz Mohieddin told Asharq Al-Awsat the organization suffered setbacks with the killing of its leaders Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi.
It has since plunged into chaos. None of the ensuing leaders enjoyed the same leadership skills as the slain ones, he added.
The majority of the militants have sought refuge in mountains and caves to hide from operations carried out by Iraqi security forces, which are backed up by US intelligence and Turkish forces, he added.
