Meanwhile, American Troops Are Still Dying In Iraq

Pentagon officials announced Monday the deaths of two US service members in northern Iraq while engaged in anti-ISIS operations with Iraqi Security Forces.

They’ve been identified as Marines operating south of Erbil, on a “mission to eliminate an ISIS terrorist stronghold in a mountainous area of north central Iraq,” according to a statement from Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.

“On the evening of March 8, the U.S.-led Coalition launched additional forces to recover two U.S. service members from the southern Makhmur Mountains in Iraq, approximately 60 km south of Erbil,” Col. Myles B. Caggins III said.

“The purpose of the mission was to eliminate ISIS safe-havens in a cave complex in the Makhmur Mountains,” Caggins told Marine Corps Times. “The Makhmur Mountains are historically known to be an ISIS safe haven. However, there is no safe place for ISIS to hide,” he added.

In the rugged and enemy-filled area it was apparently was difficult to recovered the fallen Marines’ bodies – Col. Caggins indicated it took six hours to do so.

It further appears the Marines had been part of an elite special forces unit still at the forefront of cleaning out the last mountainous holdout pockets of ISIS terrorist cells in the region.

“A source familiar with the operation told Marine Corps Times on background that the Americans were Marine Raiders partnering with Iraqi special forces in a large operation against ISIS,” the Marine Times report says.

With the coronavirus pandemic spreading throughout the globe and dominating headlines, it seems many have forgotten about the some 30,000 American troops stationed in the broader Middle East – with thousands still in Iraq, and tragically still dying.