CNN —
A joint U.S.-Iraq raid overnight killed “multiple ISIS operatives” and wounded two U.S. service members in Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said.
“Both individuals are being treated for their injuries and are understood to be in stable condition,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said at a briefing.
Ryder did not discuss the circumstances of his injury. Defense officials said Wednesday that both soldiers were transferred to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where they remain in stable condition.
“Overnight, CENTCOM and Iraqi security forces conducted joint raids in Iraq targeting several ISIS leaders,” Ryder said. “Several ISIS operatives were killed in the attack.”
At least seven operatives were killed in the operation, which included both “raids and follow-on raids” against multiple ISIS strongholds, according to a CENTCOM statement Wednesday morning. Several senior leaders were targeted.” The name of the targeted leader was not disclosed in the release.
Nine ISIS members were killed in the attack, including “a so-called criminal named Jassim al-Mazrouei Abu Abdul Qader, governor of Iraq’s Wali province, and other frontline leaders,” according to a statement from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command. died.
The statement said DNA tests are still being conducted to identify other ISIS members killed in the attack, which also said the attack took place in the Hamrin Mountains in northern Iraq.
The statement also said “a large amount of weapons, ammunition and equipment” was seized as a result of the raid, and “a large workshop for the production of booby traps and explosives” was destroyed.
The raid is the latest U.S. operation against ISIS since CENTCOM announced that the U.S. military had conducted airstrikes against multiple known ISIS camps in Syria earlier this month.
Ryder also said the department is still conducting a “post-mission analysis” of the nighttime attack and will share more information afterwards.
The raid is also the latest “partner” operation between U.S. and Iraqi forces, months after Iraq postponed announcing an end date for the U.S.-led military coalition’s presence in the country amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Iraq’s senior military committee aimed to recommend an end date for Operation Inherent Resolve, the US military operation to fight ISIS.
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “We were very close to announcing this agreement, but due to recent developments, the announcement of the end of the United Nations military mission in Iraq has been postponed.” He did not go into further details about the contents of the agreement. development. ”
Since this statement, tensions in the region have only increased. Israel has escalated its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, while continuing its war with Hamas in Gaza and pledging to respond to Iran for missile attacks against Israel.
And the Pentagon has been increasing the US military presence in the Middle East since last year, with about 40,000 US troops stationed in the region as of August. The United States also continues operations targeting ISIS in the Middle East and Africa.
“We are committed to the lasting defeat of ISIS because it is a regional and global threat,” CENTCOM commander Gen. Eric Kurilla said in April. “We remain focused on specifically targeting ISIS members seeking to conduct foreign operations outside of Iraq and Syria, and ISIS members attempting to break out of prison of detained ISIS members to reconstitute their forces.” Continue to do so.”
Earlier this month, the head of Britain’s internal security agency MI5 said ISIS, along with al-Qaeda, represented a “resurgent” threat.
MI5 director general Ken McCallum said in a speech in London: “After years of being held captive, they have resumed their efforts to export terrorism.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed reporting.
