Dec. 30 (UPI) — American forces and local partners killed 686 ISIS suspects and detained 374 in Iraq and Syria throughout the year, U.S. Central Command said in a press release Thursday.
A total of 313 operations were conducted against ISIS in Iraq and Syria under the authority of the U.S. Central Command and Combined Joined Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve.
The U.S. credits the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and elements of the Free Syrian Army with successful joint operations against ISIS, including the operation that killed ISIS leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in October.
“Over the past year, Iraqi Security Forces demonstrated an ability to continue operations to degrade ISIS, to aggressively pursue the terror group in Iraq, and to improve security and stability within Iraq,” said Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command.
The press release also raised the issue of tens of thousands of ISIS suspects in detention in Syria and Iraq. “There is a literal ‘ISIS army’ in detention in Iraq and Syria. There are, today, more than 10,000 ISIS leaders and fighters in detention facilities throughout Syria and more than 20,000 ISIS leaders and fighters in detention facilities in Iraq,” Kurilla said.
Kurilla highlighted the presence of tens of thousands of children in ISIS detention camps as a major risk factor.
“We have the potential next generation of ISIS. These are the more than 25,000 children in the al-Hol camp who are in danger… The international community must work together to remove these children from this environment by repatriating them to their countries or communities of origin while improving conditions in the camp,” Kurilla said.
U.S. counterterrorism operations in Iraq and Syria have very little public oversight. A 2021 New York Times investigation into thousands of leaked military documents found that the military’s official civilian death toll of 1,417 killed in the U.S. anti-ISIS campaign was drastically lower than the real casualty figures.
The watchdog group Airwars says between 8,197 and 13,253 civilians were killed by the American-led coalition during the war against ISIS.
