Reports of Int’l Coalition Strike Killing ISIS Oil Commander in East Syria

US military vehicle near an oil facility in northeastern Syria (AFP)
US military vehicle near an oil facility in northeastern Syria (AFP)
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Reports of Int’l Coalition Strike Killing ISIS Oil Commander in East Syria

US military vehicle near an oil facility in northeastern Syria (AFP)
US military vehicle near an oil facility in northeastern Syria (AFP)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday the targeting of ISIS commander Abu Yassin al-Iraqi by a drone strike staged by the US-led International Coalition in the countryside of Syria’s northeastern province of Deir Ezzor.

According to sources reporting to the UK-based war monitor, al-Iraqi was the successor of Abu Ward al-Iraqi, who was assassinated early on in 2020.

Al-Iraqi is believed to be the head of the terror group’s oil network in the area.

“Abu Al-Ward al-Iraqi was an ISIS official who was in charge of oil wells in Fulayteh, Al-Azraq and Al-Melh,” the Observatory reported.

“Even after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US-led International Coalition) had captured the area, al-Iraqi remained a coordinator and mediator between SDF and ISIS to facilitate the passage of oil trucks to areas under the control of SDF and regime forces,” it added.

“Al-Iraqi was also the “Emir of Al-Badia” (the commander of Al-Badia sector) and he was in charge of forming and supporting ISIS cells.”

This follows a US defense official announcing that US forces in Syria are focused on fighting the remnants of the ISIS group and are not guarding oil fields as previously ordered by ex-president Donald Trump.

Since a US firm contracted last year with the Kurds in northern Syria to help exploit northeastern Syria oil reserves, US troops are not involved, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

The 900 US military personnel and contractors in the region "are not authorized to provide assistance to any other private company, including its employees or agents, seeking to develop oil resources in Syria," said Kirby.

The only exception is when US troops in Syria are operating under existing authorizations to protect civilians, he said, which could explain the continuing presence of US forces around the area of the oil fields.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.