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| U.S. and Kurdish Commandos Said to Raid ISIS Prison in North Iraq | U.S. and Kurdish Commandos Said to Raid ISIS Prison in North Iraq |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BAGHDAD — American and Kurdish commandos raided an Islamic State outpost near the northern Iraqi town of Hawija, freeing prisoners there and capturing some of the militants themselves, Iraqi officials said on Thursday. | BAGHDAD — American and Kurdish commandos raided an Islamic State outpost near the northern Iraqi town of Hawija, freeing prisoners there and capturing some of the militants themselves, Iraqi officials said on Thursday. |
| American military officials declined to comment on the details of the classified operation, some of which remained unclear. But as described by Iraqi officials in the area, the mission appeared to be a significant joint strike against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, at a time when Iraqi and American officials are trying to mount a wider counteroffensive against the militants. | |
| Iraqi officials said the raid involved American helicopters, Kurdish and American Special Operations forces, and airstrikes. | Iraqi officials said the raid involved American helicopters, Kurdish and American Special Operations forces, and airstrikes. |
| The officials said the objective had been a prison run by the militants at a village east of Hawija. According to these accounts, American helicopters flew the commandos to the site. | The officials said the objective had been a prison run by the militants at a village east of Hawija. According to these accounts, American helicopters flew the commandos to the site. |
| Kurdish special forces were said to have been in the lead, but American commandos were also on the ground. American airstrikes were also carried out to cut the roads leading to the site. Senior militants from the Islamic State were captured, and some of their prisoners were said to have been freed, the officials said. | |
| “They cut off roads and raided the place successfully,” one of the officials who confirmed the raid, Najmaldin Karim, the governor of surrounding Kirkuk Province, said in a telephone interview. “They were able to take people with them.” | “They cut off roads and raided the place successfully,” one of the officials who confirmed the raid, Najmaldin Karim, the governor of surrounding Kirkuk Province, said in a telephone interview. “They were able to take people with them.” |
| In Washington, two senior United States military officials confirmed the broad outlines of the operation but refused to provide details. | In Washington, two senior United States military officials confirmed the broad outlines of the operation but refused to provide details. |
| The operation comes as Iraq and the American-led coalition have been trying to regain the initiative against the Islamic State and stepping up the pressure against the militants in Ramadi, Baiji and other locations in Iraq, and in Syria. Hawija is under the control of the Islamic State and has been an important flash point in recent weeks. | The operation comes as Iraq and the American-led coalition have been trying to regain the initiative against the Islamic State and stepping up the pressure against the militants in Ramadi, Baiji and other locations in Iraq, and in Syria. Hawija is under the control of the Islamic State and has been an important flash point in recent weeks. |
| While American commando operations have taken place in Syria, none had previously been confirmed to have happened within Iraq. | While American commando operations have taken place in Syria, none had previously been confirmed to have happened within Iraq. |
| The mission appears to have been the most significant American Special Operations raid against the Islamic State since commandos swooped in on the home of a top Islamic State financier, a man known as Abu Sayyaf, in eastern Syria in May, killing him and capturing a trove of laptop computers and other information, according to American officials. | The mission appears to have been the most significant American Special Operations raid against the Islamic State since commandos swooped in on the home of a top Islamic State financier, a man known as Abu Sayyaf, in eastern Syria in May, killing him and capturing a trove of laptop computers and other information, according to American officials. |