US targets Islamic State in Iraq, killing 15

New York, August 31 — The US says its military forces in Iraq have killed 15 Islamic State (IS) "operatives" in a joint operation with Iraqi Security Forces that targeted the militant group's leadership.

US Central Command said that it had performed the joint operation early on Thursday.

American and Iraqi troops were met by IS members equipped with "numerous weapons, grenades and explosive 'suicide' belts", according to the US military command group that is focused on the Middle East and South Asia.

"There is no indication of civilian casualties," it said in a statement. It is unclear whether the US or Iraqi service members suffered any casualties, however.

The Iraqi military said in an earlier statement that "airstrikes targeted the hideouts, followed by an airborne operation" in the country's "desert and caves".

“All hideouts, weapons, and logistical support were destroyed, explosive belts were safely detonated and important documents, identification papers and communication devices were seized.”

The White House National Security Council and the Pentagon referred the BBC to US Central Command for comment.

US Central Command said that it had targeted members of IS leadership in an effort to "disrupt and degrade" the group's ability to plan, organise and attack Americans, Iraqis and allies within and outside the region.

There are approximately 2,500 US troops currently in Iraq, though they remain there in an "advise and assist" capacity since the US military announced the end of its combat effort in the country in December 2021.

Iraq announced on 15 August that it would postpone a planned end-date for the US military operations in the country.

Thursday's operation follows a recent attack in Germany and a plot in Austria that are being investigated for their links to IS.

Authorities said that the suspect behind the planned attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna - a 19-year-old Austrian citizen - had pleged allegiance to the Islamic State before targeting the singer's Eras tour.

Intelligence provided by the CIA to Austrian authorities allowed them to disrupt the plot and save "hundreds of lives" , the agency's deputy director David Cohen said on Wednesday.

It also follows an attack in Solingen, Germany, in which three people died and eight others were wounded.

The attack has caused outrage in Germany ahead of state elections, and the murder suspect - Issa Al H, 26 - is being investigated for his links to IS.

Earlier this summer, the militant group took some responsibility for a rare shooting attack near a Shia Muslim mosque in Oman's capital, Muscat. Six people - including a policeman - were killed and 28 others injured.

The Islamic State once had a strong foothold in Iraq and Syria, but a US-led coalition of more than 70 countries largely drove them out from the physical caliphate they had created there.

The BBC's Frank Gardner reported in June that intelligence-sharing between police forces and security agencies had largely quelled IS's co-ordinated attacks in European cities.

But the jihadist propaganda it continues to produce online still has the ability to motivate extremists who are radicalised by it, he reported.

A senior Whitehall official in London described the status of the group as "down but not out".