The U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi forces stepped up their campaign against Islamic State fighters over the past week, including a confrontation with militants holed up in an Iraqi cave, U.S. Central Command said Jan. 6.
F-16s and F-15s carried out airstrikes against ISIS fighters operating in Iraq’s Hamrin Mountains. U.S. Air Force A-10s, which were called in to support ground forces, were successful in killing Islamic State militants fighting in the cave, the command said.
One member of the multinational coalition was killed, and two others were wounded, CENTCOM said. CENTCOM did not identify the nationality of the coalition casualties, but it said no American personnel were injured.
The operations against ISIS come amid concerns that the group is attempting to rebuild its capabilities, including by taking advantage of the confusion in Syria following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
“Partnered operations like these are critical to maintaining pressure on ISIS and preventing the terrorist group from taking advantage of the rapidly changing security environment in the region,” CENTCOM commander Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla said in a statement. “The enduring defeat of ISIS is a global effort that relies on our Coalition, allies, and partners. U.S. Central Command remains committed to aggressively pursuing these terrorists that threaten the region, our allies, and our citizens.”
Operation Inherent Resolve, as the coalition’s campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is called, is scheduled to end in September 2025. At that point, the U.S. and Iraq are expected to continue to have bilateral security arrangements, which have yet to be defined.
Around 2,500 U.S. troops are in Iraq as part of the campaign against the Islamic State group. U.S. officials say that number is likely to shrink under the new arrangement, though officials on both sides have declined to spell out the specifics, which could be influenced by events in neighboring Syria.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani is under domestic political pressure to shrink the U.S. presence, but Iraqi officials are also concerned about the possibility that ISIS may attempt a comeback.
Not all of the recent operations against the Islamic State group were in Iraq. On Jan. 2 and Jan. 3, the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led group that is America’s partner in the country, conducted an anti-Islamic State operation “enabled by CENTCOM forces” in Deir Ez Zor in eastern Syria, the command said. That operation led to the capture of “ISIS attack cell leader,” the command added.
The U.S. has some 2,000 troops in Syria to work with the SDF against Islamic State forces and recently carried out airstrikes in areas of central Syria formerly controlled by the Assad regime and Russian forces.
The Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate was defeated in 2019, but the U.S. and its allies are attempting to prevent the group from regaining strength and carrying out attacks in the Middle East and potentially beyond.
“ISIS retains capabilities, as we’ve seen in Iraq and Syria, and that’s why we have our forces in both of those countries to ensure that ISIS can never reconstitute or resurge or surge back to what it was just a decade ago,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Jan. 3. “The entire mission of our force presence there is to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, and that’s why we’ve partnered with the Syrian Democratic Forces over the past few years and that’s why we continue to conduct strikes against ISIS positions, whether it be as recently as in the Badiya desert or elsewhere.”
An Army veteran who carried out a truck-ramming attack in New Orleans on New Year’s day declared his allegiance to the group. President Biden said that the veteran was “inspired” by ISIS. But U.S. officials have not presented any evidence that he was directed by ISIS or in contact with the group.