The U.S. Army reported Thursday that its military and allied forces in Iraq and Syria have killed nearly 700 Islamic State members, including several leaders of the organization, during 2022.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has specified, through a statement summarizing the year, that they have killed 466 members of the Islamic State in Syria and at least 220 «agents» in Iraq. In addition, 374 members – 215 in Syria and 159 in Iraq – have been arrested.
«The emerging, reliable and consistent ability of our Iraqi and Syrian partner forces to conduct unilateral operations to capture and kill Islamic State leaders allows us to maintain constant pressure on the Islamic State network,» said Maj. Gen. Matt McFarlane, commander of Combined Joint Task Force.
CENTCOM has added that «no U.S. forces have been injured or killed in these operations,» while highlighting the «critical role» of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Iraqi security forces «in ensuring the lasting defeat of Islamic State.»
McFarlane also reiterated Washington’s commitment, «and more importantly, (of) our partners in Iraq and Syria» to defeating the jihadist group.
«These operations have degraded the Islamic State and removed a group of senior leaders from the battlefield,» reads the agency’s statement, which adds that all of these operations seek to bring down «the terrorist group’s ability to direct and inspire destabilizing attacks in the region and globally, including against the U.S. homeland.»
Islamic State has suffered in recent weeks the death of its third leader since 2019, with the confirmation of the death of Abu al Hassan al Hashemi al Quraishi, who was appointed to lead the group in March following the death of Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Quraishi in a US special forces operation in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.
In this context, the new leader of the Islamic State, Abu al Hussein al Hussein al Quraishi – the seventh to hold the position since the group was founded in 2004 by Abu Musab al Zarqawi – is facing a situation of weakening of the central leadership of the group, which nevertheless continues to pose a major threat due to its numerous branches in the world, especially in Africa.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
