ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq's prime minister and commander in chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced late Tuesday the killing of two Islamic State (ISIS) group members allegedly involved in the fatal double suicide bombings in Baghdad's Tayaran Square last month, in a joint operation by the Iraqi security forces and the US-led coalition.
“The terrorist Abu Hassan al-Gharibawi, the so-called leader of southern Iraq in Daesh [Islamic State], and the terrorist Ghanem Sabah Jawad, who is responsible for transporting suicide bombers, were both eliminated today, in addition to other terrorist elements,” said Kadhimi.
Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for Kadhimi in his capacity as commander in chief, told state media that "the heroes of our security services killed two criminals involved in the bombing of Baghdad's Tayaran Square", adding that the operation was conducted under Kadhimi’s supervision.
"The international coalition aircraft were provided with information about their whereabouts, as a precise air strike was directed in the Abu Ghraib district, west of Baghdad", Rasool said.
"The security forces continue their operations, and chase down terrorists wherever they may be".
On Thursday, Kadhimi announced the killing of Abu Yaser al-Issawi, who referred to himself as the deputy caliph and ISIS' so-called governor, or Wali, of Iraq, as part of operation "Revenge of the Martyrs."
"Operation 'Revenge of the Martyrs' will continue until we get rid of all ISIS remnants," Iraqi Counter-Terror Services head Abdulwahab al-Saadi told state media the same day.
Issawi's killing fulfilled a promise to the "families of the dead in Tayaran Square, and the PMF [Popular Mobilization Forces]," Rasool said, where the double suicide bombing on January 28 left at least 32 people dead and 100 others injured.
Despite its territorial defeat in Iraq in 2017, ISIS remains active across Iraq. On Thursday, ISIS claimed in its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba that it had killed and injured at least 176 people in 19 attacks in Iraq from January 21 to January 27.
According to ISIS propaganda outlet Amaq, the terror group carried out 1,422 attacks in Iraq in 2020, with the highest number of attacks recorded in Diyala province. A total of 2,748 people were killed as a result of the attacks, Amaq said earlier this month.
Tuesday’s killings come on the same day that five members of Iraq's state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) were killed in a clash with ISIS militants in Diyala province on Tuesday, according to the paramilitary network.
Saadi told state media on Tuesday that they have a list of other terrorists that they will be pursued later.
At least 11 PMF fighters were killed in an ISIS ambush on January 23.
Additional reporting by Dilan Sirwan
Updated at 11:44 am on February 3, 2021
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