The Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) (Arabic: قوات العمليات الخاصة العراقية) are a special operations force of Iraq. The unit was created in 1950, but was disbanded and recruited from scratch by Coalition forces after the 2003 U.S. invasion. The forces, directed by the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service, consist of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Command, which has three brigades subordinate to it. The Counter Terrorism Service (Jihaz Mukafahat al-Irhab, originally translated as Counter Terrorism Bureau) is funded by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence.[2]
Commandos from the Thunderbolt wing during a military exercise in the late 1960s.
Special operations troops of the Iraqi Army were first established when Colonel Khalil Dabbagh built the first royal special units in the name of "Queen Alia Forces" in the mid-1950s. It consisted of Sunni and Shia Arabs, as well as other components of the Iraqi population. They were mainly used on an emergency basis to carry out special missions inside of Iraq and outside when the country was at war.
The 65th Special Forces Brigade, 76th Special Forces Brigade, 78th Special Forces Brigade, and 450th Marine Brigade were active during the Persian Gulf War.[3]
Official ISOF logo from 1980-2003. Currently serves as the official logo of the 3rd Battalion.
After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, the Saddam Hussein-era Iraqi Army was disbanded by the occupation authorities. A new commando force was recruited from scratch, mostly from Shia, Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians and Turkmen.[4] In November 2005, after training in Jordan with Jordanian Special Forces and U.S. Army Special Forces ("Green Berets"), the Iraqi Special Operations Force had 1,440 men trained, composed of two combat battalions, considered equal in training and combat effectiveness to an average U.S. Army infantry battalion, and two support battalions.[5] By March 2008, the force consisted of a single brigade which in turn was made up of an Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Force (ICTF) battalion, three Commando battalions, a support battalion and a special reconnaissance unit.[6]
On April 18, 2010, ISOF troops, supported by U.S. troops, carried out a night-time raid on a terrorist safe house near Tikrit. The ISOF surrounded the building and called on them to surrender, but instead the terrorists fired on them. The ISOF returned fire and assaulted the building. The ISOF killed Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq, 16 others were also arrested.[7][8][9]
After the U.S. left in 2011, the CTS struggled without American intelligence, air strikes, logistical capabilities, and medical care.[10] Journalist/researcher Michael R. Gordon was told that with the withdrawal of the U.S. Army and Air Force, and the fraying of Iraqi capabilities, Maliki had saddled the CTS "with a burgeoning array of missions that included manning checkpoints, escorting convoys, protecting voting centres, and doing battle with militants in densely populated Iraqi cities. A specialised force that had been designed to carry out lightning raids against terrorist cells (with considerable [U.S.] support) had become a jack-of-all-trades that was being tasked to deal with the upheaval in Iraq."[10] Well-respected U.S. Army special operations Major General Mike Nagata found Major General Fadhil Jamil al-Barwari (a Kurd from Dohuk), who led the 1st ISOF Brigade of the CTS, "no longer the confident commander" that he had been in years past.[11]
2016 Battle of Mosul
In the Battle of Mosul that began in October 2016, the special ops forces were the first division into the city of Mosul, which had been occupied by Islamic State since 2014.[12] After the fall of Mosul, the ISOF battalions increasingly took up an infantry role the Iraqi army and militias weren't able to provide during operations, a role the unit was unfamiliar with for most of the war against terror. This resulted in a greater number of casualties than in previous operations, which were smaller in scale and shorter in duration.
On 1 November 2016, the 1st Iraqi Special Forces Brigade fought its way into the Gogjali quarter of the city, becoming the first Iraqi unit to enter the city during the offensive.[13] On 10 July 2017, the Iraqi prime minister declared the liberation of Mosul from ISIS.[14] By the end of the battle, CTS forces suffered a 40 percent casualty rate.[15]
3rd Special Operations Brigade (ISOF-3) was established in Basra by spring 2013, following an order by the prime minister in January 2012 that the forces expand by an additional brigade. It consisted of regional commando battalions in Basra, Babylon, Najaf, Maysan, Dhi Qar and Muthanna provinces, a recon battalion, and a support battalion.[17] A Special Tactics unit is also maintained.[18]
10th Regional Commando Battalion
20th Regional Commando Battalion
36th Regional Commando Battalion
45th Regional Commando Battalion
Academia (formerly 4th battalion, 1st ISOF brigade). It is responsible for screening and training of new recruits for Counter-Terrorism Command (CTC).[19]
^Witty, David (2016). "The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service" (PDF). Brookings Institution. The reporter conducting the interview with Barwari noted that the 1st ISOF Brigade was composed of Sunnis, Shi'as, Kurds, Christians, and Turkmen
^"Special Operations: Iraqi Special Operations Forces". StrategyPage. StrategyWorld.com. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
^Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq - March 2008 Report to Congress.
^"2 Most Wanted Al Qaeda Leaders in Iraq Killed by U.S., Iraqi Forces" FoxNews, 19 April 2010.
^Waleed Ibrahim. "Al Qaeda's top two leaders in Iraq have been killed, officials said Monday, in a strike the United States called a "potentially devastating blow" but whose impact analysts said may be limited". Thomson Reuters.
^Reuters Editorial (10 July 2017). "Iraqi PM declares victory over Islamic State in Mosul". Reuters. Retrieved 1 January 2018. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^"DVIDS - Images - Iraqi Special Operations Special Tactics Unit [Image 3 of 6]". dvidshub.net. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
^"Golden Division / Iraqi National Counter-Terrorism Force (INCTF) Counter-Terrorism Service [CTS]".
^"Remington R4s Reach Iraq". Silah Report. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^"ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 1 – Personal Equipment – Armament Research Services". 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^"ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 1 – Personal Equipment – Armament Research Services". 27 November 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
^"VHS K2 Bullpup in Iraq". www.thefirearmblog.com. 21 October 2016.
^"Korean K2C in Iraq, on both sides". www.thefirearmblog.com. 30 September 2016.
^. www.thefirearmblog.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-05. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
^"Iraqi CT Sniper in Comfy Action". www.thefirearmblog.com. 13 October 2017.
^"Iranian AM50 and Russian ORSIS T-5000 rifles in Iraq". www.thefirearmblog.com. 18 June 2014.
^"Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) member armed with K14 sniper rifle and K2C Carbine". www.pinterest.com.
^"Iraqi Military using S&W M&P9 Pistol". www.thefirearmblog.com. 31 October 2008.
Gordon, Michael (R.) (2022). Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State, from Barack Obama to Donald Trump. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN978-0374279899.
Neville, Leigh (2015). Special Forces in the War on Terror. General Military. Osprey Publishing. ISBN978-1-4728-0790-8.
Witty, David (2015). The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service(PDF). Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. p. 10. Retrieved 5 June 2016.</ref>
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iraqi Special Operations Forces.
April 14, 2023
iraqi, special, operations, forces, isof, arabic, قوات, العمليات, الخاصة, العراقية, special, operations, force, iraq, unit, created, 1950, disbanded, recruited, from, scratch, coalition, forces, after, 2003, invasion, forces, directed, iraqi, counter, terroris. The Iraqi Special Operations Forces ISOF Arabic قوات العمليات الخاصة العراقية are a special operations force of Iraq The unit was created in 1950 but was disbanded and recruited from scratch by Coalition forces after the 2003 U S invasion The forces directed by the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service consist of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Command which has three brigades subordinate to it The Counter Terrorism Service Jihaz Mukafahat al Irhab originally translated as Counter Terrorism Bureau is funded by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence 2 Iraqi Special Operations ForcesISOFقوات العمليات الخاصة العراقيةShoulder badgeFounded1950 2003 Dec 2003 current form Country IraqBranchIraqi Armed ForcesTypeSpecial ForcesSizesee below 10 000 12 000Part ofIraqi Counter Terrorism Service reports directly to Prime Minister of Iraq Garrison HQGreen Zone BaghdadNickname s The Golden DivisionMotto s Raise The Black Colors BlackEngagementsIran Iraq War Iraqi invasion of Iran Gulf War Iraqi invasion of Kuwait Iraq War War in Iraq Syrian Civil War Yemeni Civil War Second Libyan Civil WarWebsitehttps www isof iq com CommandersCurrentcommanderAbdul Wahab Saadi 1 NotablecommandersKhalil DabbaghTalib ShaghatiFadhil BarwariInsigniaICTB FlagISOF Flag Contents 1 History 2 2016 Battle of Mosul 3 Command structure 4 Weapons 4 1 Assault rifles and battle rifles 4 2 Sub machine guns 4 3 Sniper rifles and anti material rifles 4 4 Handguns 4 5 Machine guns 4 6 Launchers and grenade launchers 5 References 6 External linksHistory Edit Commandos from the Thunderbolt wing during a military exercise in the late 1960s Special operations troops of the Iraqi Army were first established when Colonel Khalil Dabbagh built the first royal special units in the name of Queen Alia Forces in the mid 1950s It consisted of Sunni and Shia Arabs as well as other components of the Iraqi population They were mainly used on an emergency basis to carry out special missions inside of Iraq and outside when the country was at war The 65th Special Forces Brigade 76th Special Forces Brigade 78th Special Forces Brigade and 450th Marine Brigade were active during the Persian Gulf War 3 Official ISOF logo from 1980 2003 Currently serves as the official logo of the 3rd Battalion After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq the Saddam Hussein era Iraqi Army was disbanded by the occupation authorities A new commando force was recruited from scratch mostly from Shia Sunni Arabs Kurds Assyrians and Turkmen 4 In November 2005 after training in Jordan with Jordanian Special Forces and U S Army Special Forces Green Berets the Iraqi Special Operations Force had 1 440 men trained composed of two combat battalions considered equal in training and combat effectiveness to an average U S Army infantry battalion and two support battalions 5 By March 2008 the force consisted of a single brigade which in turn was made up of an Iraqi Counter Terrorism Force ICTF battalion three Commando battalions a support battalion and a special reconnaissance unit 6 On April 18 2010 ISOF troops supported by U S troops carried out a night time raid on a terrorist safe house near Tikrit The ISOF surrounded the building and called on them to surrender but instead the terrorists fired on them The ISOF returned fire and assaulted the building The ISOF killed Abu Ayyub al Masri and Abu Omar al Baghdadi the leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq 16 others were also arrested 7 8 9 After the U S left in 2011 the CTS struggled without American intelligence air strikes logistical capabilities and medical care 10 Journalist researcher Michael R Gordon was told that with the withdrawal of the U S Army and Air Force and the fraying of Iraqi capabilities Maliki had saddled the CTS with a burgeoning array of missions that included manning checkpoints escorting convoys protecting voting centres and doing battle with militants in densely populated Iraqi cities A specialised force that had been designed to carry out lightning raids against terrorist cells with considerable U S support had become a jack of all trades that was being tasked to deal with the upheaval in Iraq 10 Well respected U S Army special operations Major General Mike Nagata found Major General Fadhil Jamil al Barwari a Kurd from Dohuk who led the 1st ISOF Brigade of the CTS no longer the confident commander that he had been in years past 11 2016 Battle of Mosul EditIn the Battle of Mosul that began in October 2016 the special ops forces were the first division into the city of Mosul which had been occupied by Islamic State since 2014 12 After the fall of Mosul the ISOF battalions increasingly took up an infantry role the Iraqi army and militias weren t able to provide during operations a role the unit was unfamiliar with for most of the war against terror This resulted in a greater number of casualties than in previous operations which were smaller in scale and shorter in duration On 1 November 2016 the 1st Iraqi Special Forces Brigade fought its way into the Gogjali quarter of the city becoming the first Iraqi unit to enter the city during the offensive 13 On 10 July 2017 the Iraqi prime minister declared the liberation of Mosul from ISIS 14 By the end of the battle CTS forces suffered a 40 percent casualty rate 15 Command structure Edit ISOF during training in Babylon 2020 Members of the ISOF force move in a single file around buildings during military training in Mosul April 5 2018 ISOF at Camp Taji in March 2020 ISOF1st Special Operations Brigade ISOF 1 based in Baghdad often referred to as the Golden Division previously the Golden Brigade 16 1st Battalion Commando former 36th Battalion 2nd Battalion ICTF 3rd Battalion Support 5th Battalion Recon Wolf Brigade Commando Police CTG Kurdistan Lexoman Parastin 2nd Special Operations Brigade ISOF 2 with units in Mosul Karbala Diyala and Al Asad 6th Regional Commando Battalion 7th Regional Commando Battalion 8th Regional Commando Battalion 9th Regional Commando Battalion3rd Special Operations Brigade ISOF 3 was established in Basra by spring 2013 following an order by the prime minister in January 2012 that the forces expand by an additional brigade It consisted of regional commando battalions in Basra Babylon Najaf Maysan Dhi Qar and Muthanna provinces a recon battalion and a support battalion 17 A Special Tactics unit is also maintained 18 10th Regional Commando Battalion 20th Regional Commando Battalion 36th Regional Commando Battalion 45th Regional Commando Battalion Academia formerly 4th battalion 1st ISOF brigade It is responsible for screening and training of new recruits for Counter Terrorism Command CTC 19 Weapons EditAssault rifles and battle rifles Edit M4A1 carbine M16A2 M16A4 Remington R4 20 Rock River Arms LAR 15 21 SIG Sauer SIGM400 22 VHS K2 D2 bullpup assault rifle 23 K2C carbine 24 OTs 14 GrozaSub machine guns Edit Uzi Heckler amp Koch MP5 Heckler amp Koch MP7 FN P90Sniper rifles and anti material rifles Edit HSR Cyclone sniper rifle 25 Steyr HS 50 AM50 anti material rifle 26 M24 SWS ORSIS T 5000 sniper rifle 27 Barrett M82A1 M107 SASR K14 sniper rifle 28 Mk 14 Enhanced Battle RifleHandguns Edit Beretta 92FS pistol Tariq pistol S amp W M amp P9 pistol 29 Glock 17 amp Glock 19 HS2000 pistolMachine guns Edit PKM M249 light Machine gun M240 GPMG DShKM heavy machine gun Browning M2HBLaunchers and grenade launchers Edit M203 grenade launcher RPG 7 RPG 27 M136 AT4 Mk 153 Shoulder Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon K4 Milkor MGL Daewoo Precision Industries K4 Mk 47 StrikerReferences Edit Zhelwan Z Wali PM Kadhimi returns prominent lieutenant to counter terrorism forces Rudaw Retrieved 10 May 2020 Witty 2015 p 10 Eisenstadt Jane s Intelligence Review Witty David 2016 The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service PDF Brookings Institution The reporter conducting the interview with Barwari noted that the 1st ISOF Brigade was composed of Sunnis Shi as Kurds Christians and Turkmen Special Operations Iraqi Special Operations Forces StrategyPage StrategyWorld com 17 November 2005 Retrieved 5 June 2016 Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq March 2008 Report to Congress Neville 2015 p 226 2 Most Wanted Al Qaeda Leaders in Iraq Killed by U S Iraqi Forces FoxNews 19 April 2010 Waleed Ibrahim Al Qaeda s top two leaders in Iraq have been killed officials said Monday in a strike the United States called a potentially devastating blow but whose impact analysts said may be limited Thomson Reuters a b Gordon 2022 p 10 Gordon 2022 p 11 Ramsay Stuart 20 October 2016 Elite troops strengthen battle for Mosul Sky News Retrieved 20 October 2016 Iraqi Army enters Mosul Live updates day 16 Reuters Editorial 10 July 2017 Iraqi PM declares victory over Islamic State in Mosul Reuters Retrieved 1 January 2018 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a author has generic name help https comptroller defense gov Portals 45 Documents defbudget fy2018 fy2018 CTEF J Book Final Embargoed pdf bare URL PDF Witty 2015 p 12 Witty 2015 p 25 DVIDS Images Iraqi Special Operations Special Tactics Unit Image 3 of 6 dvidshub net Retrieved 1 January 2018 Golden Division Iraqi National Counter Terrorism Force INCTF Counter Terrorism Service CTS Remington R4s Reach Iraq Silah Report 18 April 2020 Retrieved 27 May 2021 ISOF Arms amp Equipment Part 1 Personal Equipment Armament Research Services 27 November 2016 Retrieved 27 May 2021 ISOF Arms amp Equipment Part 1 Personal Equipment Armament Research Services 27 November 2016 Retrieved 31 May 2021 VHS K2 Bullpup in Iraq www thefirearmblog com 21 October 2016 Korean K2C in Iraq on both sides www thefirearmblog com 30 September 2016 Iraq Loses Two Valued Snipers in the fight against IS www thefirearmblog com Archived from the original on 2021 02 05 Retrieved 2021 01 07 Iraqi CT Sniper in Comfy Action www thefirearmblog com 13 October 2017 Iranian AM50 and Russian ORSIS T 5000 rifles in Iraq www thefirearmblog com 18 June 2014 Iraqi Special Operations Forces ISOF member armed with K14 sniper rifle and K2C Carbine www pinterest com Iraqi Military using S amp W M amp P9 Pistol www thefirearmblog com 31 October 2008 Gordon Michael R 2022 Degrade and Destroy The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State from Barack Obama to Donald Trump New York Farrar Straus and Giroux ISBN 978 0374279899 Neville Leigh 2015 Special Forces in the War on Terror General Military Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 1 4728 0790 8 Witty David 2015 The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service PDF Washington D C The Brookings Institution p 10 Retrieved 5 June 2016 lt ref gt External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iraqi Special Operations Forces Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Iraqi Special Operations Forces amp oldid 1148628060, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
