Iraqi Forces Kill ‘ISIS Slaughterer’ in Anbar Desert

Iraqi forces in the Anbar province in September 2017. (AFP)
Iraqi forces in the Anbar province in September 2017. (AFP)
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Iraqi Forces Kill ‘ISIS Slaughterer’ in Anbar Desert

Iraqi forces in the Anbar province in September 2017. (AFP)
Iraqi forces in the Anbar province in September 2017. (AFP)

Iraqi forces announced on Sunday that they killed Abou Taha al-Tunsi, also known as the “ISIS Slaughterer,” one of the terror group’s most notorious members.

The terrorist and nine of his companions were killed in a security operation in Iraq’s Anbar province, revealed intelligence sources.

The operation was initially launched after information was received that the terrorists were in the area and they were preparing to carry out attacks against security forces, they added.

The forces discovered during their raid secret tunnels that the group was using in the Anbar desert. There, they confiscated weapons, narcotic pills and liquor.

The operation in Anbar is part of a larger operation the armed forces are carrying out in the desert, where hundreds of ISIS members are still located.

Head of the Iraq Sahwa Conference Sheikh Ahmed Abou Risha told Asharq Al-Awsat that in wake of battles to liberate areas that were seized by ISIS in 2014, the terrorists chose to flee instead of fighting the incoming forces.

They consequently fled to the desert, he explained, where they remain.

“ISIS used to fiercely fight in regions it could not escape from,” he added.

The Anbar desert is vast and it still feeds several other regions with ISIS cells that are carrying out various attacks using new methods, such as ambushes, said Abou Risha.

Iraqi security expert Abou Fadel Raghif told Asharq Al-Awsat that regardless of Abou Taha al-Tunsi’s death, “the truth is clear that 95 percent of the major ISIS leaderships have not engaged in battle, but chose to hide in various regions, including beyond Iraq.”

“None of these figures have been arrested,” he stressed.



US to Withdraw 600 Troops from Syria, Leaving Fewer than 1,000 to Help Counter ISIS Militants

The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the ISIS group but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. File. | Photo Credit: AP
The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the ISIS group but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. File. | Photo Credit: AP
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US to Withdraw 600 Troops from Syria, Leaving Fewer than 1,000 to Help Counter ISIS Militants

The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the ISIS group but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. File. | Photo Credit: AP
The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the ISIS group but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. File. | Photo Credit: AP

The US will withdraw about 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to work with Kurdish allies to counter the ISIS group, a US official said Thursday.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet announced publicly.
The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against ISIS but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups.
President Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria during his first term, but he met opposition from the Pentagon because it was seen as abandoning allies and led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
The departure of the 600 troops will return force levels to where they had been for years, after the US and its allies waged a multiyear campaign to defeat ISIS. The US had maintained about 900 troops in Syria to ensure that the ISIS militants did not regain a foothold, but also as a hedge to prevent Iranian-backed militants from trafficking weapons across southern Syria.
The number of US troops was raised to more than 2,000 after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel, as Iranian-backed militants targeted US troops and interests in the region in response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
Three US troops in Jordan were killed by a drone fired by an Iranian-backed militia in January 2024.
In December 2024, Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country. In the months since, Syrians displaced by more than a decade of war have returned home, but the country remains unstable. Israel has targeted Syrian weapons installations, and there are some indications that the ISIS group is trying to reconstitute itself, and Iranian-backed militias in Syria remain a threat to US interests.
The withdrawal of the 600 troops was first reported by The New York Times.