ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS released a pair of statements detailing recent air strikes in northern Iraq have killed at least 55 ISIS members in a two-day span, many in the disputed areas.
On October 30, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and counter-terrorism units (ICTS) with coalition support conducted multiple strikes in Saladin province, killing "five senior Daesh leaders and more than 30 other militants."
"Their followers helped coordinate vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks in Sharqat and Qayarrah that injured civilians, in addition to numerous attacks targeting ISF, Iraqi civilians and infrastructure within Salah ah Din and Kirkuk provinces," read a coalition statement released on Sunday.
The coalition did not comment on a car bomb that exploded in western Mosul on Thursday, killing 2. It occurred near a restaurant known to be frequented by security forces.
On the next day, Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) and coalition forces killed approximately 20 fighters near Makhmour.
The operation began with air strikes and was followed by a ground attack the Iraqis.
“This successful strike conducted by the ISF disrupts ISIS networks as they continue to maintain the pressure required to prevent their resurgence,” said Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, Commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve in the second statement released on Sunday.
The release of the statements follows US Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk meeting separately with new Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and President Barham Salih in Baghdad on Saturday. McGurk said the coalition will accelerate its campaign on the Syrian side of the border.
Also on Saturday, the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga were placed on high alert as coalition warplanes killed at least 13 ISIS militants in disputed areas claimed by Erbil and Baghdad near Makhmour.
Iraq's Ministry of Defence has said their side of the border is secure with forces and defensive measures employed from the Euphrates river crossing in al-Qaim north to Mosul.
A security vacuum and forces not loyal to the Iraqi government, in part, led to the rise of ISIS in 2014 when the group threatened to overrun the country. Currently, Kurdish security officials say there is a gap between their forces and ISF, particularly in the disputed areas claimed by Erbil and Baghdad, but currently under the security portfolio of the federal government.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) the last two months has unpromising released security assessments that say ISIS attacks remain unabated.
"Tracked security incidents from October signals a reemergence of VBIED-based attacks in Kirkuk and Mosul. Targeted assassinations against mokhtars and attacks on electricity infrastructure continued unabated," read the KRSC statement published on November 4.
Brig. Gen. General Yahya Rasul, the spokesperson for Iraqi Joint Operations, had tweeted nearly daily reports of security incidents in October. Most were in Kirkuk, Diyala, Saladin, Nineveh, Baghdad, and Anbar provinces.
Iraq is currently still filling lower posts in its new government. PM Abdul-Mahdi, as commander in chief of the country's armed forces, faces unifying Iraqi security institutions and reeling predominately Shiite militias and paramilitias which received arms and training from Iran during the ISIS conflict.
The Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga remain under the command of Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani until a new government is formed. There have been no significant ISIS attacks where there is a Peshmerga presence.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared ISIS defeated in Iraq in December 2017.
