By Anas al-Bar | 2024-09-14

A recent joint operation in Iraq's western desert underscores the need for sustained US-Iraqi cooperation to cripple the ability of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) to carry out attacks, military officials and security experts said.

US and Iraqi forces killed 15 ISIS elements August 29 during a dawn raid on the group's strongholds in al-Hazimi, east of Wadi al-Qadhf in Anbar province.

US fighter jets opened the "Lion's Leap" operation with strikes on four ISIS hideouts. An airborne force that included US soldiers and Iraqi intelligence service members was then landed, and engaged the fleeing extremists.

The ISIS elements were "armed with numerous weapons, hand grenades and explosive suicide belts," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

Iraq's Security Media Cell said "a number of important documents and communication devices" were seized during the raid, and two extremists who had fled one of the sites were pursued and arrested.

The operation was well-planned and "involved a great deal of secrecy in order to surprise the enemy," security expert Sarmed al-Bayati told Al-Fassel.

The targets had been monitored for a long time, he said, using information intelligence agencies had collected from computers and phones confiscated during previous operations against ISIS remnants in the region.

Lasting partnership

The joint mission provides an impetus to continue coordination and cooperation between international coalition and Iraqi forces, al-Bayati said, noting that ISIS is "a dangerous enemy capable of organizing harmful attacks."

The operation aimed "to disrupt and degrade ISIS's ability to plan, organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as US citizens, allies and partners throughout the region and beyond," CENTCOM said.

Strategy expert Ahmed al-Sharifi told Al-Fassel the recent operation reflects the "need for the United States to continue supporting Iraq's combat and technical capabilities, especially in the areas of training, air support and intelligence."

According to a government statement, Iraq aspires to "continue cooperation in the field of training, expertise and information."

But it wants the agreement to "end the mission of the international coalition" and turn it into a "framework for bilateral relations with the countries participating in the coalition."

Around 2,500 US troops are in Iraq providing advice and assistance to Iraqi forces.

In a recent television interview, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said these personnel do not represent an "occupying force" -- as Iran-backed groups are trying to suggest, in order to force them out of the country.

"We begged the Americans to come to Iraq after the emergence of ISIS," Hussein said, referring to the group's 2014 incursion.