A U.S. soldier died of wounds received during an operation to free dozens of hostages who were facing execution near Hawija. Four Peshmerga were wounded. Twenty militants were also killed; however, some of them may have been civilians killed by the militants before they fled.
The Kurdish Regional Government requested the raid; otherwise, it is unclear why U.S. Special Forces were involved in this particular operation. Some of the hostages were believed to be of “high value,” but it appears that this group was not the one forces intended to rescue. That could explain why no captives were Kurdish. About 20 of the 69 hostages, however, were members of the Iraqi security forces. The Pentagon says that was this a unique operation and U.S. tactics in Iraq have not changed overall.
At least 75 were killed and 60 were wounded in other violence:
Four people were executed in Hawija on Wednesday.
A bomb targeting Shi’ite pilgrims traveling through Tuz Khormato left three dead and 36 wounded. The pilgrims were taking part in Ashura observances.
In Baghdad, a bomb killed two people and wounded six more in Abu Dsheer. A bomb in Hor Rajab killed two policemen and wounded three more. Two people were killed and eight were wounded when a bomb exploded at a Ghazaliya market.
A bomb in Mashada killed one person and wounded seven more.
A sticky bomb killed a taxi driver in Baquba.
Thirty militants were killed in a missile attack near Baiji.
In Sinjar, strikes killed 11 militants.
Nine militants were killed in Ramadi.
An airstrike killed five militants, including their leader, in Riyadh.
Three militants were killed in Makhmour.
In Mosul, militants executed two of their own for “cowardice.”
Security forces in Jazira killed several militants including a militant official.
