Iraqi security forces killed 22 ISIS fighters during a military operation in the country’s sprawling western desert, senior military officers said on Sunday.
Lt Gen Abdul Wahab Al Saedi, head of the country’s elite Counter Terrorism Service, told a press conference that all those killed wore explosive-laden belts, adding that senior leaders were among the dead.
He named two of the slain field leaders as Barzan Hussein, who served as ISIS’s governor of Fallujah, Al Janoob and Rokan Hameed Allawi.
Fourteen others were also identified, he added, but he did not release their names.
Remnant ISIS cells have resurfaced in Iraq in recent months, launching a number of deadly attacks against security forces, although the level of violence is low compared with the group’s peak.
