Iraq Airstrike on ISIS Positions in Syrian Territory

The Iraqi Prime Minister's office announced that the country's fighter jets bombed ISIS positions in eastern Syria on Sunday, April 15. The statement noted that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the Iraqi Air Force to deliver a 'painful blow' to ISIS commanders in southern Dashisha, located in Syrian territory. Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, told AFP that F-16 aircraft successfully conducted operations against ISIS forces in Syrian territory early Sunday. Dashisha is a desert area in Syria's Hasakah province, where Kurdish forces, supported by the U.S., are battling jihadist forces opposing the Syrian government. This is the second time in the past month that the Iraqi Air Force has attacked ISIS positions in Syrian territory. According to reports published on April 30, 36 ISIS members were killed in an Iraqi airstrike on the town of Hajin in Deir ez-Zor province. Iraq officially declared victory over ISIS forces in December of last year, having received support from both Iran and the U.S. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group, declared a caliphate on June 29, 2014, at the Great Mosque of Mosul, and the group quickly managed to seize a vast area of Syrian and Iraqi territory. At the height of its power, ISIS controlled nearly one-third of Iraq's territory. Last year, Iraq conducted several airstrikes against ISIS positions in Syrian territory with the approval of the Syrian government and the U.S. coalition. Last month, Haider al-Abadi stated that 'any necessary action' would be taken against ISIS if Iraq's security was threatened.