October 23, 2024
The raid resulted in the death of multiple ISIS operatives.
Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder in a press briefing Tuesday announcing a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid that killed nine members of the terrorist group ISIS. Maj. Gen. Ryder later stated two U.S. service members were injured during the raid but are reportedly in stable condition.
Why It Matters: The target of the raid remains unconfirmed at the time of this publishing but multiple journalists questioned whether the ISIS terrorists killed included the leader of the group in Iraq. The raid comes just weeks after CENTCOM announced airstrikes targeting ISIS camps in Syria. In April, after announcing multiple missions in Iraq and Syria targeting ISIS, CENTCOM commander Gen. Erik Kurilla said, “We are committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS because of the threat they pose both regionally and globally. We continue to focus our efforts on specifically targeting those members of ISIS who are seeking to conduct external operations outside of Iraq and Syria and those ISIS members attempting to break out ISIS members in detention in an attempt to reconstitute their forces.”
Big Picture: U.S. presence in the Middle East has continued to grow over the last year, with roughly 43,000 U.S. troops now in the region.
Read More: Two US service members injured in raid that killed ISIS operatives In Iraq, Pentagon says (CNN)
Image Credit: CIA
by Stephanie Wagner, based in Florida
