Iraq is inflicting heavy losses on ISIS and causing it to shrink

The Iraqi Counterterrorism Agency announced on August 27 the liquidation of senior leaders of ISIS in Iraq, providing the nicknames of three of the leaders – namely, Abu Muslim, Abu Anas and Abu Waqas. The agency was unable to identify the others because their bodies were mutilated from the impact of the airstrike by the international coalition.

Will of Victory

According to the Iraqi Counterterrorism Agency, ISIS lost much of its top leadership in Iraq in the strikes.

Over the past week, ISIS has suffered many casualties and losses due to strikes by the US-led coalition and the Iraqi army.

The Joint Operations Command in Iraq recently announced the launch of the fourth phase of Operation Will of Victory to clear western Iraq from ISIS or any other extremist groups.

The command said in a statement that the operation involved various sectors and branches of the Iraqi security forces, in addition to the armored division supported by Iraqi aviation and the international coalition led by the United States.

Operation Will of Victory comes in its four phases, as Iraqi forces, with the support of the international coalition, seek to completely block any possible return of the terrorist organization in the various provinces of Iraq and the Iraqi desert, especially the areas that have borders with Syria, from which ISIS infiltrates. The operation coincided with the third anniversary of the liberation of Mosul.

Night wolves

The Iraqi authorities have developed more than one strategy to end this mission, most notably the method of “night wolves,” which is a tactic based on setting up moving ambushes to hunt takfiri elements through either liquidation or capture.

This is in addition to the policy of blocking the road used by Iraqi forces in cooperation with US forces to block the way for the return of ISIS by intensifying preemptive military strikes and gathering intelligence to determine the movements and reactions of the terrorist organization.

ISIS retreats

Abdulkhabir Atallah, professor of political science, said ISIS will considerably decline in Iraq in the coming period because of loss of the five leaders. Moreover, Operation Will of Victory has achieved great victories against ISIS in all stages and contributed to its weakening.

Atallah said that this decline could be temporary, even if it takes a long time, because ISIS has many sleeper cells the cities and provinces of Iraq.