Six suspected ISIS members killed in Iraqi airstrikes near Kirkuk

KIRKUK — Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced Thursday that six suspected Islamic State group members were killed in three airstrikes in the Kirkuk region, including a senior figure within the group.

The command said the operation followed more than two months of intelligence efforts by the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, supported by the Joint Operations Command’s targeting cell. “F-16 fighter jets carried out three airstrikes, resulting in the deaths of six individuals,” the command reported. Among those killed was Omar Salah Naama, also known as Abu Khattab, described as a prominent Islamic State leader in the governorate of Kirkuk, along with two other individuals identified as Othman Abu Abd and Azeddin Hisham.

After the strikes, security forces, working with the Iraqi National Intelligence Service and the Counter-Terrorism Unit, searched the targeted site and recovered the bodies of the deceased. Explosive belts, weapons, technical equipment, and mobile phones allegedly used by the group were also found.

The statement did not specify the exact locations targeted. However, a security source from the Kirkuk Joint Operations Command told 964media that “the strikes took place last night between the Dibis and Altun Kupri districts, near the villages of Mama and Alagheer.”

In recent months, the Iraqi army has intensified operations against remnants of Islamic State cells still active in Kirkuk. On Sept. 16, Iraqi forces killed two gunmen, identified as Islamic State members, who were wearing explosive belts in the Panja Ali neighborhood of Kirkuk. A similar incident occurred on Sept. 11, when two armed men were cornered in a house in Sekaniyan village, south of Kirkuk. During the standoff, one detonated his explosives, while the other surrendered to security forces. Iraq’s National Security Service later confirmed that the surviving gunman was an Islamic State operative.