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.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.