BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces and American troops have killed a senior commander with the Daesh group who was wanted by the United States, as well as several other prominent militants, Iraq’s military said on Friday.
The operation in Iraq’s western Anbar province began in late August, the Iraqi military said, and involved also members of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service and Iraq’s air force.
Among the dead was an Daesh commander from Tunisia, known as Abu Ali Al-Tunisi, for whom the US Treasury Department had offered $5 million for information. Also killed was Ahmad Hamed Zwein, the Daesh deputy commander in Iraq.
Despite their defeat, attacks by Daesh sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria have been on the rise over the past years, with scores of people killed or wounded.
Friday’s announcement was not the first news of the operation.
Two weeks ago, official has said that the United States military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected Daesh militants in the country’s western desert that killed at least 15 people and left seven American troops hurt.
Five of the American troops were wounded in the raid itself, while two others suffered injuries from falls during the operation. One who suffered a fall was transported out of the region, while one of the wounded was evacuated for further treatment, a US defense official said at the time, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation that had not yet been made public.
In Friday’s announcement, the Iraqi military said the operation also confiscated weapons and computers, smart phones and 10 explosive belts. It added that 14 Daesh commanders were identified after DNA tests were conducted. It made no mention of the 15th person killed and whether that person had also been identified.
The Daesh group seized territory at the height of its power and declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 but was defeated in Iraq in 2017. In March 2019, the extremists lost the last sliver of land they once controlled in eastern Syria.
At its peak, the group ruled an area half the size of the United Kingdom where it enforced its extreme interpretation of Islam, which included attacks on religious minority groups and harsh punishment of Muslims deemed to be apostates.
Despite their defeat, attacks by Daesh sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria have been on the rise over the past years, killing and wounding scores of people.
The US military has not commented on the August raid.
Earlier Friday, the US Central Command said its forces killed an Daesh attack cell member in a strike in eastern Syria. It added that the individual was planting an improvised explosive device for a planned attack against anti-Daesh coalition forces and their partners, an apparent reference to Syria’s Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
In August last year, the US had agreed to enter into talks to transition US and anti-Daesh coalition forces from their long-standing role in assisting Iraq in combating Daesh. There are approximately 2,500 US troops in the country, and their departure will take into account the security situation on the ground, and the capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces.

PRETORIA: South Africa is determined to pursue its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and will next month file more evidence, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday.
South Africa filed the case in December alleging that Israel’s Gaza offensive, launched in retaliation for Hamas’ bloody October 7 attack, breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Israel has strongly denied the accusation.
“We are headstrong,” Ramaphosa told journalists when asked about the case. “We are determined to go ahead with our case.”
The country is due to file facts and evidence to the UN court next month to back up its case.
“Preparations are underway to present what they call the memorial, a huge tome of hundreds and hundreds of pages,” the president said.
“We continue arguing that the genocide must stop and there must be a ceasefire, and similarly, there must be a return of the hostages.”
South Africa’s case has been joined by several countries, including Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Spain and Turkiye.
Hamas’s attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The count includes hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliation has killed at least 41,118 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.