Iraqi forces kill six ISIS members, including ‘deputy governor’

KIRKUK — Iraqi security forces announced Friday the discovery of six bodies belonging to ISIS members, including the so-called “deputy governor of Kirkuk,” following a series of airstrikes by Iraqi F-16 fighter jets. The strikes targeted a key ISIS hideout in the Hamrin mountain range in Hawija district, Kirkuk governorate.

In a statement, The Joint Operations Command detailed the operation, explaining that the airstrikes were carried out under the Kirkuk Operations Command. The strikes neutralized an ISIS hideout that had posed a direct threat to the forces executing the mission.

“Following the strikes, a team of Counter-Terrorism Service forces, supported by engineering units from the Kirkuk Operations Command and supervised by the Joint Operations Command’s targeting cell, advanced to the site,” the statement said. “They confirmed the deaths of six terrorists, including the individual known as the ‘deputy governor of Kirkuk’ within ISIS.”

At its peak, ISIS divided its territories into administrative regions called wilayats, such as Wilayat Anbar, Wilayat Nineveh, and Wilayat Dijlah, each serving as operational hubs for military activities, logistics, and governance. Anbar acted as a key crossing and supply route due to its desert expanse and proximity to Syria.

The operation spanned five days, during which security forces combed through complex caves and hideouts in the mountainous terrain, demonstrating what the statement described as “exceptional courage, persistence, and strategic execution.”

The Joint Operations Command emphasized the importance of intelligence in the success of the operation. “These preemptive operations, based on precise intelligence, have yielded remarkable results in eliminating the remnants of the defeated terrorist factions,” the statement read.

The forces safely returned after completing their mission. “We will continue to make the earth narrow for ISIS and its leadership,” the statement concluded, “as long as we have men armed with a love for Iraq.”

On Jan. 2, 2025, Iraqi Military Intelligence forces, operating under the Ministry of Defense, announced the arrest of a suspected ISIS logistics operative in Hawija, Kirkuk governorate.

ISIS continues to exploit security vulnerabilities in territories straddling the Kurdistan Region and the federal Iraq. These areas, spanning parts of Kirkuk, Salah Al-Din, Nineveh, and Diyala governorates, have witnessed a resurgence of ISIS activity, fueled by a lack of coordinated security efforts and administrative overlap.

Recent events underscore the persistent threat. In October 2024, an ISIS ambush near Kirkuk claimed the lives of four Iraqi soldiers and left three others wounded. Just weeks earlier, Iraqi warplanes targeted suspected ISIS hideouts in these contested zones, killing six militants and highlighting the group’s enduring operational capacity.