ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — It was recently revealed that the first American service member to die fighting ISIS in October 2015 was killed as part of a joint US-Kurdish Peshmerga raid on a prison in Hawija and his death “saved the lives of the partner force.”
Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler of the Army’s elite Delta Force was awarded the Silver Star posthumously; however, the details of his “gallantry” were not elaborated on until the US government responded to a Freedom of Information Act request from Business Insider.
“Wheeler fearlessly exposed himself to heavy small arms fire from barricaded enemy positions. His selfless actions were critical in achieving the initiative during the most dangerous portion of the raid,” read the statement.
At the time, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) declared the operation a success in which 69 hostages, all Arabs, were freed — twenty ISIS fighters were killed and six arrested in the battle, while one American soldier was killed and 3 Kurdish forces from the counter-terrorism unit were injured.
“His selfless actions were critical in achieving the initiative during the most dangerous portion of the raid. Master Sergeant Wheeler’s actions saved the lives of the partner force,” the US statement added.
Days after the raid on October 22, 2015, Brigadier Sarhad Qadir of the Kirkuk police told Rudaw that Kurdish and American Special Forces had stormed an ISIS court in the town of Riyadh east of Hawija where they killed a number of militants in the ensuing firefight around 11 p.m.
Wheeler had deployed 14 times over his 20-year career in the US Army. He earned his Ranger tab, then was assigned to US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
It is common for the Pentagon not to reveal details of the exact manner in which US service members are killed, especially when the operations are still ongoing.
ISIS released video footage shortly after the raid claiming to show the aftermath of the raid, showing the corpses of supposed ISIS militants and pieces of a first aid kit and other small items believed to have been left behind by the Kurdish and American commandos.
Nearly two years on, Kurdish forces complain that Baghdad has prioritized the Tal Afar offensive west of Mosul over Hawija. They are concerned that the terrorist group is turning the Hawija area into a base for guerrilla-style warfare as they lose territory of their so-called caliphate.
Recent reports indicate that many ISIS commanders and fighters from Mosul relocated to the Hamrin Mountains and Kurdish Peshmerga have repelled a number of ISIS attacks south of Kirkuk resulting in the deaths of several Kakei Kurds and at least three Peshmerga.
Wheeler’s death in 2015 challenged the Obama administration narrative that American troops would not be put on the ground in Iraq or Syria. As of Friday, 43 Americans have died in Operation Inherent Resolve (11 killed in action) with 44 more wounded in action, according to the US defense department.
Additionally, two US service members were killed and five injured on Sunday in northern Iraq “conducting combat operations;” however, US Central Command stated “initial reports indicated the incident was not do to enemy contact” and investigations are ongoing.
Kurdish President Masoud Barzani said on July 11 that more than 1,745 Peshmerga have been killed in the fight against ISIS and at least 10,069 have been injured. He also revealed that 63 Kurdish Peshmerga have either gone missing in action or were captured by ISIS militants since 2014.
Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler of the Army’s elite Delta Force was awarded the Silver Star posthumously; however, the details of his “gallantry” were not elaborated on until the US government responded to a Freedom of Information Act request from Business Insider.
“Wheeler fearlessly exposed himself to heavy small arms fire from barricaded enemy positions. His selfless actions were critical in achieving the initiative during the most dangerous portion of the raid,” read the statement.
At the time, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) declared the operation a success in which 69 hostages, all Arabs, were freed — twenty ISIS fighters were killed and six arrested in the battle, while one American soldier was killed and 3 Kurdish forces from the counter-terrorism unit were injured.
“His selfless actions were critical in achieving the initiative during the most dangerous portion of the raid. Master Sergeant Wheeler’s actions saved the lives of the partner force,” the US statement added.
Days after the raid on October 22, 2015, Brigadier Sarhad Qadir of the Kirkuk police told Rudaw that Kurdish and American Special Forces had stormed an ISIS court in the town of Riyadh east of Hawija where they killed a number of militants in the ensuing firefight around 11 p.m.
Wheeler had deployed 14 times over his 20-year career in the US Army. He earned his Ranger tab, then was assigned to US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
It is common for the Pentagon not to reveal details of the exact manner in which US service members are killed, especially when the operations are still ongoing.
ISIS released video footage shortly after the raid claiming to show the aftermath of the raid, showing the corpses of supposed ISIS militants and pieces of a first aid kit and other small items believed to have been left behind by the Kurdish and American commandos.
Nearly two years on, Kurdish forces complain that Baghdad has prioritized the Tal Afar offensive west of Mosul over Hawija. They are concerned that the terrorist group is turning the Hawija area into a base for guerrilla-style warfare as they lose territory of their so-called caliphate.
Recent reports indicate that many ISIS commanders and fighters from Mosul relocated to the Hamrin Mountains and Kurdish Peshmerga have repelled a number of ISIS attacks south of Kirkuk resulting in the deaths of several Kakei Kurds and at least three Peshmerga.
Wheeler’s death in 2015 challenged the Obama administration narrative that American troops would not be put on the ground in Iraq or Syria. As of Friday, 43 Americans have died in Operation Inherent Resolve (11 killed in action) with 44 more wounded in action, according to the US defense department.
Additionally, two US service members were killed and five injured on Sunday in northern Iraq “conducting combat operations;” however, US Central Command stated “initial reports indicated the incident was not do to enemy contact” and investigations are ongoing.
Kurdish President Masoud Barzani said on July 11 that more than 1,745 Peshmerga have been killed in the fight against ISIS and at least 10,069 have been injured. He also revealed that 63 Kurdish Peshmerga have either gone missing in action or were captured by ISIS militants since 2014.
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