Incoming coalition commander vows to continue fight against ISIS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The new commanding general of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) vows to continue assisting and advising local forces in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), according to a statement posted on Thursday. 

Major General Joel B. Vowell officially assumed the position during a change of command ceremony in Baghdad on Tuesday, replacing Major General Matthew McFarlane. The ceremony was presided by CENTCOM Commander General Michael “Erik” Kurrilla.

“We live on the knife’s edge of freedom. Our mission here is to continue the defeat of Daesh [ISIS], help our partner forces get better, and become independent. That will be my focus,” Vowell said at the ceremony, as cited by a statement by Operation Inherent Resolve. 

The US-led coalition advises and provides aerial assistance to Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army as well as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against ISIS. In recent weeks, the SDF has carried out a string of raids against ISIS targets in northeast Syria (Rojava), in coordination with the US-led global coalition.

ISIS seized control of swathes of Syria in 2014 but the group was declared territorially defeated in 2019 after the SDF overran its last bastion in Baghouz. However, the terror group continues to pose a serious risk in the region through hit-and-run attacks, abductions, and bombings.

In its last monthly report, CENTCOM said 31 operations were carried out in July. Twenty of them were in Iraq and the remaining 11 were conducted in Syria.