Senior ISIS commander killed in operation: PM Kadhimi

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A senior Islamic State (ISIS) commander has been killed in an intelligence-led operation, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced on Twitter.

“We promised and fulfilled. I gave my word to pursue Daesh [ISIS] terrorists, we gave them a thundering response. Our heroic armed forces have eliminated Daesh commander Abu Yaser Al-Issawi as part of an intelligence-led operation,” Kadhimi said in a tweet.

Abu Yaser al-Issawi was one of the leading commanders of ISIS in Iraq, and referred to himself as the deputy caliph and ISIS' so-called governor, or Wali, of Iraq.

Issawi was killed during an operation in Kirkuk's Wadi al-Shay area on Wednesday, military spokesperson Yehia Rasool told state media on Thursday evening, which was named "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.

Issawi's death comes just one week after deadly suicide bombings struck Baghdad, killing more than 30 people in the city's Tayaran Square.

 The PM had vowed action in the wake of the bombing, which was claimed by ISIS. 

"Our response to those who shed innocent Iraqi blood will be bold and earth-shattering, and the evil leaders of Daesh will face a force to be reckoned with," Kadhimi tweeted the day of the bombing.

Issawi's killing fulfils a promise to the "families of the dead in Tayaran Square, and the PMF [Popular Mobilization Forces]," Rasool added on Thursday.

Despite its territorial defeat in Iraq in 2017, the terror group remains active across the country, particularly in territory disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.

At least 11 PMF fighters were killed in an ISIS ambush on Saturday.

According to ISIS propaganda agency 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, the agency said earlier this month.

Updated at 20:32 pm