The United States (U.S.) army carried out an attack with the Iraqi army against the group of the so-called Islamic State in western Iraq and killed 15 of its fighters, the U.S. military command announced.
”That group of jihadists was armed with numerous weapons, grenades and belts with explosives. There are no indications that there were any civilian casualties,” the statement added, reports AFP.
The operation, carried out on Thursday morning but announced on Friday evening, “targeted jihadist leaders in order to disrupt and undermine the group’s ability to prepare, organize and carry out attacks on civilians in Iraq”, the U.S. military command said.
It is added that the so-called Islamic State, declared a terrorist organization by the U.S. Security Council, “remains a threat to the region, to U.S. allies, and to U.S. national territory.”
The U.S. has about 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and almost 900 in Syria, as part of the international coalition created to fight the so-called Islamic state.
Although the Iraqi authorities at the end of 2017 declared victory over the so-called Islamic State, its cells continue to attack soldiers and police officers sporadically, especially in rural and remote areas outside major cities.
On August 15th, Iraq announced the postponement of the end of the mission of the international coalition led by Washington on its territory, justifying the postponement with “the latest developments” in the explosive regional context.
