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U.S. Soldier Is Killed in Raid to Free Prisoners of ISIS in Iraq
By*MICHAEL*R.*GORDON
OCTOBER 22, 2015
BAGHDAD — An American soldier was fatally wounded on Thursday as American and Kurdish commandos raided an Islamic State prison in northern Iraq after learning that the prisoners faced imminent mass execution, the Pentagon said. The commando became the first American soldier killed in action in Iraq since the withdrawal in 2011.
The raid, near the town of Hawija, freed 70 prisoners, including Kurds and more than 20 Iraqi security forces, the Pentagon said in a statement. Five Islamic State fighters were detained and several killed, and American officials said important intelligence about the terrorist group was recovered.
Some details of the classified operation remained unclear. But as described by Iraqi officials in the area, the mission appeared to be a significant joint strike against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, at a time when Iraqi and American officials are trying to mount a wider counteroffensive against the militants.
Fears that the prisoners were in danger may have been reinforced by the militants’ actions in recent days. An Iraqi in the Hawija area, who asked not to be named because he feared retribution from the Islamic State, said this week that the militants had recently executed 11 young men who were the sons or relatives of police officers or other Iraqi forces. He said their bodies had been hanged on a nearby bridge.
American and Iraqi officials said the raid involved American helicopters, Kurdish and American Special Operations forces, and airstrikes. The commando who was killed was not identified pending notification of his family. Four Kurdish soldiers were wounded as well, officials said.
American officials said American helicopters flew the commandos to the site. Kurdish special forces were said to have been in the lead, but American commandos were also on the ground. American jets carried out airstrikes to cut the roads leading to the site.
“They cut off roads and raided the place successfully,” one of the Iraqi officials who confirmed the raid, Najmaldin Karim, the governor of the surrounding Kirkuk Province, said in a telephone interview. “They were able to take people with them.”
The operation comes as Iraq and the American-led coalition have been trying to regain the initiative against the Islamic State and stepping up the pressure against the militants in Ramadi, Baiji and other areas in Iraq, and in Syria. Hawija is under the control of the Islamic State and has been an important flash point in recent weeks.
While American commando operations have taken place in Syria, none had previously been confirmed to have happened within Iraq.
The mission appears to have been the most significant American Special Operations raid against the Islamic State since commandos swooped in on the home of a top Islamic State financier, a man known as Abu Sayyaf, in eastern Syria in May, killing him and capturing a trove of laptop computers and other information, according to American officials.
The slain soldier was the first American killed since military operations by the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State began in September 2014, but soldiers from other coalition nations have also been killed. A Canadian soldier was killed in northern Iraq in March in a friendly-fire incident involving Kurdish troops. And a Jordanian pilot was burned alive this year by the Islamic State after his plane crashed in Syria in December.
Falih Hassan contributed reporting from Baghdad, and*Eric Schmitt from Washington.
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MIDDLE EAST
U.S. Soldier Is Killed in Raid to Free Prisoners of ISIS in Iraq
By*MICHAEL*R.*GORDON
OCTOBER 22, 2015
BAGHDAD — An American soldier was fatally wounded on Thursday as American and Kurdish commandos raided an Islamic State prison in northern Iraq after learning that the prisoners faced imminent mass execution, the Pentagon said. The commando became the first American soldier killed in action in Iraq since the withdrawal in 2011.
The raid, near the town of Hawija, freed 70 prisoners, including Kurds and more than 20 Iraqi security forces, the Pentagon said in a statement. Five Islamic State fighters were detained and several killed, and American officials said important intelligence about the terrorist group was recovered.
Some details of the classified operation remained unclear. But as described by Iraqi officials in the area, the mission appeared to be a significant joint strike against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, at a time when Iraqi and American officials are trying to mount a wider counteroffensive against the militants.
Fears that the prisoners were in danger may have been reinforced by the militants’ actions in recent days. An Iraqi in the Hawija area, who asked not to be named because he feared retribution from the Islamic State, said this week that the militants had recently executed 11 young men who were the sons or relatives of police officers or other Iraqi forces. He said their bodies had been hanged on a nearby bridge.
American and Iraqi officials said the raid involved American helicopters, Kurdish and American Special Operations forces, and airstrikes. The commando who was killed was not identified pending notification of his family. Four Kurdish soldiers were wounded as well, officials said.
American officials said American helicopters flew the commandos to the site. Kurdish special forces were said to have been in the lead, but American commandos were also on the ground. American jets carried out airstrikes to cut the roads leading to the site.
“They cut off roads and raided the place successfully,” one of the Iraqi officials who confirmed the raid, Najmaldin Karim, the governor of the surrounding Kirkuk Province, said in a telephone interview. “They were able to take people with them.”
The operation comes as Iraq and the American-led coalition have been trying to regain the initiative against the Islamic State and stepping up the pressure against the militants in Ramadi, Baiji and other areas in Iraq, and in Syria. Hawija is under the control of the Islamic State and has been an important flash point in recent weeks.
While American commando operations have taken place in Syria, none had previously been confirmed to have happened within Iraq.
The mission appears to have been the most significant American Special Operations raid against the Islamic State since commandos swooped in on the home of a top Islamic State financier, a man known as Abu Sayyaf, in eastern Syria in May, killing him and capturing a trove of laptop computers and other information, according to American officials.
The slain soldier was the first American killed since military operations by the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State began in September 2014, but soldiers from other coalition nations have also been killed. A Canadian soldier was killed in northern Iraq in March in a friendly-fire incident involving Kurdish troops. And a Jordanian pilot was burned alive this year by the Islamic State after his plane crashed in Syria in December.
Falih Hassan contributed reporting from Baghdad, and*Eric Schmitt from Washington.
R
