IDNAround.com – The Iraqi security forces claimed to have killed a senior leader of the radical group Islamic State (ISIS) in the Syrian region. Baghdad launched a security operation in northern Syria to hunt down militants responsible for recent attacks on Iraqi government forces.
As reported by Reuters and Iraqi News on Wednesday (June 12, 2024), the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) stated that the security operation was launched following intelligence efforts by INSS security forces to hunt down the remnants of “ISIS terrorists” and coordinate with the international coalition to combat ISIS.
In its statement, as reported by the INA news agency, the INSS explained that its forces had tracked a terrorist named Abu Zainab for several days before surrounding him in the Al-Busayra area in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa.
Abu Zainab, an Iraqi national, according to the INSS, was killed in an armed clash with Iraqi security forces in the area.
According to the INSS, Abu Zainab was responsible for transporting weapons and explosive devices for ISIS and participating in terrorist operations against Iraqi security forces in Salah Al-Din Province some time ago.
The INSS also mentioned that the security operation in the Syrian region was conducted in cooperation with the US-led coalition forces, aiming to eliminate ISIS.
However, the spokesperson for the US-led anti-ISIS coalition has not yet responded to the report.
For years, the US-led coalition has been working with Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to combat ISIS remnants in both countries. Iraq declared victory over ISIS at the end of 2017, stating that its entire territory had been liberated from the grip of the radical militants. However, ISIS remnants still routinely launch attacks against Iraqi police, military, and paramilitary units.
According to United Nations (UN) experts, as reported by the Associated Press, ISIS still has about 5,000 to 7,000 members remaining in its stronghold areas in Syria and Iraq.
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