“I congratulate our honorable people on the killing of the so-called (Iraq Governor) in the terrorist organization ISIS and 8 of the organization’s senior leaders in a heroic and qualitative operation,” Sudani said on X.
The Iraqi army operation targeted ISIS bases in the Hamrin Mountains, a hotbed for jihadist activity and part of territories disputed between the federal Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) - where the majority of anti-ISIS campaigns in the country take place.
ISIS seized control of vast swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014, sweeping across vast stretches of northern and central areas.
But the jihadists’ so-called “caliphate” was brought to an end in 2017 as Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, supported by a US-led international coalition, clawed back territory from the group.
Despite its territorial defeat, ISIS has continued to pose security threats in Iraq through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions, particularly in the disputed territories that stretch across several provinces including Diyala, Salahaddin, Kirkuk, and Nineveh.
Iraqi airstrikes in Salahaddin province have killed at least 11 ISIS members since mid-October.
On Friday, the US military said that a Iraqi airstrike in Kirkuk earlier in the week killed the leader of ISIS in the province.
In late August, a joint operation by the Iraqi army and US forces in the western Anbar province killed 16 ISIS militants, and the US military later said that the operation killed four ISIS leaders.
