Vern Evans
Two American service members were wounded Tuesday in a series of raids with the Iraqi military that killed at least seven ISIS operatives, U.S. Central Command announced.
The raids, following earlier strikes in the area, targeted senior leaders of the terrorist group and took place in central Iraq. The two American service members were wounded while “assisting Iraqi forces with site exploitation” according to CENTCOM, which added that the troops were in “stable condition.”
“U.S. Central Command, alongside our coalition and Iraqi partners, will aggressively pursue ISIS and other terrorists that pose a threat to US forces, allies, partners, and security in the region,” wrote CENTCOM head Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, in a statement.
This week’s operation is the latest in a series conducted against ISIS in recent months — many of which have included, or in this case, been led by the Iraqi Security Forces. The U.S. and Iraq announced in September that a multi-national task force to fight the terrorist group would end its work in Iraq and Syria over the next two years.
“During these past years, we’ve seen very significant improvement in the Iraqi Security Force’s capability,” a senior defense official told reporters on a call announcing the decision.
The U.S. military has said that ISIS is diminished far below its peak power of the mid 2010s, when it seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. But it still remains a threat, both in the Middle East and northern Africa.
In a Tuesday briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that CENTCOM was still running its assessment of the raids after the fact, and that the injured service members are being treated, though he didn’t say where.
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
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