After 700 Killed – ISIS Sleeper Cells, New Generation Threaten Area
The U.S. Central Command said Friday morning that nearly 700 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq were killed in 313 operations in 2022, with the majority of the operations carried out in cooperation with US-backed Kurdish militants, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Iraqi security forces.
108 military operations
The U.S. Central Command said that at least 220 ISIS members were killed in 191 operations in Iraq. The Central Command added that “these operations weakened ISIS and removed a senior leadership cadre from the battlefield, including the ISIS emir, dozens of regional commanders and hundreds of fighters,” and that no U.S. forces were killed or wounded during the operations.
“Over the past year, the Iraqi Security Forces have demonstrated an ability to continue operations to degrade ISIS, aggressively pursue the terrorist group in Iraq, and improve security and stability inside Iraq,” said Central Command Commander Gen. Michael Correla. “In Syria, the SDF continues to demonstrate the will, skill and ability to aggressively root out ISIS leaders.”
The New Generation of ISIS
More than 10,000 ISIS members remain in detention centers across Syria and 20,000 are detained in Iraq, where the group this month attacked a compound in the northeastern city of Raqqa, Centcom said. six Kurdish fighters were killed, and in January ISIS members from al-Ghuwairan prison in Hasakeh sparked a crisis, leading to deadly clashes between the SDF and terrorists.
“The ensuing fighting to contain the infiltration has killed more than 420 ISIS and killed more than 120 partner forces,” Corrilla said, warning of “a new generation of ISIS members, in reference to the 25,000 children in Al-Hol camp in Syria that houses ISIS members and their wives.” “These children in the camp are prime targets of ISIS extremism, and the international community must work together to remove these children from this environment by returning them to their countries or communities of origin while improving conditions in the camp,” he said.
Amarnath Amarasingham, a radicalization researcher at the University of Queens in Canada, said: “Al-Hol is about survival; it’s about keeping the organization, some women there make sure that conditions under ISIS live and part of that is monitoring other women.”
