The US military and Iraqi Security Forces killed four Islamic State (IS) leaders during an August 29 raid in western Iraq that resulted in the wounding of seven American soldiers. One of the IS leaders was a wanted terrorist with a $5 million bounty on his head.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) identified the slain terrorists as Ahmad Hamid Husayn Abd-al-Jalil al-Ithawi, Abu Hammam, Abu-‘Ali al-Tunisi, and Shakir Abud Ahmad al-Issawi. In all, 14 Islamic State members were killed during the raid.
Ithawi was “responsible for all operations in Iraq,” Hammam was “responsible for overseeing all operations in Western Iraq,” al-Tunisi was “responsible for overseeing technical development,” and al-Issawi was “responsible for overseeing military operations in Western Iraq,” according to CENTCOM.
Al-Tunisi, who CENTCOM identified as overseeing technical development for the Islamic State, was wanted by the US government. The Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
According to Rewards for Justice, he was “a key leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)” and “the leader of manufacturing for ISIS in Iraq,” including chemical weapons.
“He has conducted training for ISIS members, including instruction on how to make explosives, suicide vests, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” Rewards for Justice reported. “Al-Tunisi also provided advanced training on weapons development and the manufacturing of chemical weapons.”
US to end its mission in Iraq
The raid against the Islamic State leadership cell took place one week before the news of the drawdown of US forces from Iraq. According to Reuters, the US and Iraq governments have agreed to a deal for US forces to leave Iraq by the end of 2026.
“The plan, which has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date, would see hundreds of troops leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026,” the news agency reported.
There are an estimated 2,500 US troops based in Iraq, while an additional 900 US personnel are scattered among smaller bases throughout northeastern Syria. These forces target the Islamic State in both countries. It is unclear if a US presence in Syria is sustainable if American troops are withdrawn from Iraq.
US forces have been targeting the Islamic State’s network in Iraq and Syria since the terror group lost the last vestiges of its physical caliphate in 2019. Between 2014 and 2019, the Islamic State, an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Iraq, controlled an area in Iraq and Syria the size of Great Britain before being defeated by an unlikely alliance of the US, Iraq Security Forces, the Assad regime in Syria, Iran and its Shia militias in Iraq, the Kurdistan Workers Party (the PKK, a terrorist group rebranded by the US as the Syrian Democratic Forces), and Iraqi and Syrian tribal militias.
Despite losing ground in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State has persisted. The United Nations Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team estimates that IS has a “combined strength in both countries […] between 1,500 to 3,000 fighters, as it continues to face battlefield losses, desertions, and recruitment challenges.” It is likely that the Islamic State’s strength is far greater, however.
General Michael Erik Kurilla, the commander of CENTCOM, said that his organization “remains committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS, who continues to threaten the United States, our allies and partners, and regional stability.” However, a US withdrawal from Iraq and Syria by the end of 2026 would give the terror group new life.
