2025-03-30T21:15:05+00:00
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Shafaq News/ Iraqi security forces conducted dozens of joint operations against ISIS in the first quarter of 2025, killing 50 militants and arresting more than 40 others.
According to Shafaq News data, based on sources and official statements, the three-month period witnessed intensive operations spanning nine provinces against the group’s active networks in desert and mountainous areas, particularly in the country’s north and west.
The Joint Operations Command confirmed at least 25 coordinated raids. Kirkuk saw the highest number of operations, followed by Saladin, Al-Anbar, Diyala, Baghdad, Maysan, Nineveh, and the Kurdistan Region province of Al-Sulaymaniyah.
The raids, some based on intelligence gathered in cooperation with the Global Coalition, targeted ISIS safehouses, weapons depots, and field commanders.
Some of the group’s most senior figures were successfully eliminated. On March 14, Iraqi intelligence forces, backed by Coalition air assets, killed Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rafiei, also known as Abu Khadijah, who was described by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.” According to Al-Sudani, the slain leader served as ISIS’s so-called “Deputy Caliph” and oversaw operations in both Iraq and Syria.
Other prominent figures killed during the quarter include Maher Hamad Salbi (Abu Obaida), the “Deputy Governor” of Kirkuk; Daham Mohammed al-Alawi (Abu Saeed al-Dandoushi), the “Governor” of Kirkuk; Shahadha Alawi Saleh (Abu Issa), commander of the Hamrin sector; Basim Rabei Al-Battoush, a key operative; Adnan Khalil Jadan (Haji Awad), a senior commander believed responsible for attacks in western Iraq; and Layla Al-Hamdani (Umm Al-Qeera), wife and mother to ISIS members, responsible for inciting civil unrest.
In addition to the killings, security services arrested dozens of ISIS operatives, many holding mid- to high-level positions. On March 26, the Military Intelligence Directorate announced the arrest of seven suspected militants across Al-Anbar, Kirkuk, and Nineveh. According to the Directorate, the suspects have been identified as individuals linked to previous attacks on Iraqi forces.
The campaign was carried out jointly by Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service, federal intelligence units, the Kurdistan Region’s Asayish forces, and Coalition partners.