{"id":18097,"date":"2016-05-24T15:26:10","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T15:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2016\/05\/24\/these-high-speed-iraqi-commandos-are-leading-the-charge-into-fallujah\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:25:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:25:22","slug":"these-high-speed-iraqi-commandos-are-leading-the-charge-into-fallujah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/05\/24\/these-high-speed-iraqi-commandos-are-leading-the-charge-into-fallujah\/","title":{"rendered":"These high-speed Iraqi commandos are leading the charge into Fallujah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An elite\u00a0Iraqi force that just led a mission to retake an\u00a0Islamic State group stronghold near the Syrian border\u00a0now has its sights set on getting\u00a0Fallujah back into the hands of the government\u00a0wears some seriously intimidating black tactical uniforms\u00a0\u2014 complete with skull masks<\/span>\u200b.\u00a0Mysterious Iraqi operatives\u00a0in black uniforms and skull masks\u00a0lead a recent\u00a0OAF Nation<\/u><\/a>\u00a0post on the recapture of a remote desert outpost from the Islamic State group.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u200bThe commandos \u2014 part of Iraq’s\u00a0country\u2019s elite <\/span>\u200bCounter-Terrorism Service \u2014 is\u00a0leading the charge to retake\u00a0Fallujah, the first Iraqi city to fall to ISIS in January 2014. It was considered a devastating blow to the Iraqi government, and to the Marines who fought two of the Corps’ bloodiest battles there during the 8-year war in the country<\/span>\u200b.\u00a0The Counter-Terrorism Service, or CTS, stormed Fallujah on Sunday, backed by Iraqi soldiers and the national police, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. About 1,500 members of the CTS\u00a0were involved in the fight to retake the Iraqi city, along\u00a0with about 10,000 local\u00a0soldiers and roughly 8,000 members of the police force, CBS reported Monday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

About a week earlier<\/p>\n\n\n\n

prior<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b, the CTS\u00a0led the charge to wrest the strategic town of Rutbah from ISIS, Army Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters after that mission ended<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in a follow-on briefing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b.\u00a0As federal police cordoned off the village, the CTS directly engaged ISIS fighters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

as the primary clearance force, OIR public affairs elaborated in an email to Military Times<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were also involved in the fight to take back Ramadi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Iraqi Counter-Terror Service, who are without any question, the most elite forces on this battlefield,\u00a0are spearheading the operation,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s what you need to know about these commandos’ capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have a unique chain of command.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The counter-terrorism service<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CTS,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200banswers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

able<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bdirectly to Iraq\u2019s prime minister. The unit\u00a0combines elements of the Iraqi army\u2019s special operations forces \u2014 known as the “Golden Brigades” \u2014 with units of the interior ministry\u2019s rapid-deployment force, a SWAT-like federal police branch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

force<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

StratFor military analyst<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bPaul Floyd, a military analyst at the global intelligence consulting firm StratFor,\u00a0told Military Times that the CTS is used as the point team in “every major military effort.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They are by far the most competent [Iraqi] force,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were trained by American troops.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bmilitary stood up and trained the independent, quasi-military task force prior to its official 2011 departure from the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2007,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

when the paramilitary force was first set up as the ‘Counter Terrorism Bureau’,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bthe U.S. has poured millions of dollars and untold man-hours training and equipping them, primarily by U.S. Special Operations forces, according to a Brookings Institute study<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CTS also worked side-by-side with U.S. special operators<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American SOF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bduring the counterinsurgency slog, kicking in doors and scooping up bad guys in the dead of night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A member of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service forces participate in a training exercise as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter observes at the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service Academy on the Baghdad Airport Complex in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 23, 2015. Carter is on a weeklong tour of the Middle East focused on reassuring allies about Iran and assessing progress in the coalition campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. (AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service force was trained by U.S. troops during the Iraq War. The group is now involved in the fight to retake major cities from the Islamic State group.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Carolyn Kaster\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They wear some intense uniforms.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of the The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

y<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bcommonly wear<\/p>\n\n\n\n

s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b black fatigues \u2014\u00a0and some don intimidating skull masks meant to incite fear in their enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the masks aren’t\u00a0typically issued to the individual fighter, Floyd said troops around the world are often drawn to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s generally because the individual soldier likes it or just wants to wear it,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The force can also be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bidentified by the yellow and green patch worn on its members’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

its members\u00a0seen on the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bright shoulders<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the picture<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

StratFor military analyst Paul<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bFloyd said<\/p>\n\n\n\n

told Marine Corps Times<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b. They’re also known to carry hand-me-downs from U.S. Special Operations forces, to include\u00a0helmets, ear protection and weapons, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have a checkered past.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the U.S. military left Iraq in 2011,\u00a0the civilian-led forces like the CTS\u00a0were used during some\u00a0troubling missions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CTS\u00a0fight against terror took a darker turn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bunder Iraq\u2019s controversial former Prime Minister Nouri al<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b-Maliki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“From its very inception, CTS made many Iraqis and outsiders nervous,” retired Army Col.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

colonel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bDavid Witty wrote in the 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bBrookings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Institute<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b\u00a0study. “Because of its elite status, operational and intelligence capabilities, secrecy, and mission of quickly neutralizing specified individuals, CTS had a tremendous potential for misuse.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As sectarian divides deepened across Iraq, Maliki turned to his security forces to crush Sunni protests. In December 2013, for example, 17 civilians in Ramadi were killed\u00a0when SWAT forces<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for example, they<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b descended on a camp of hundreds of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3-400<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bprotesters there<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in Ramadi, and \u00a0to disperse them. 17 civilians were killed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b, according to Human Rights Watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With sectarian divisions ripping Iraq apart, Al-Maliki often deployed the Shi’a-dominated Rapid Deployment Force to brutally crush Sunni protests against his divisive policies, claiming the SWAT force was fighting terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2013, for example, they descended on a camp of 3-400 protesters in Ramadi to disperse them. 17 civilians were killed, according to\u00a0Human Rights Watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those troubling events set the stage for ISIS to gain strongholds in the country, said<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is opened the doors for ISIS to ‘ blitzkrieg through the country in 2014, recalled<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bAli Muhammed Al-Thabhaw, a prominent Iraqi lawyer and civil rights activist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When the SWAT force used violence against the protesters, it planted the seeds of doubt [against the Iraqi government] for the people of Anbar province,” he said. “In the city of Hit, for example, most of the people welcomed ISIS for this very reason.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew L. Schehl covers training and education, recruiting, West Coast Marines, MARSOC, and operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Marine Corps Times. He can be reached at<\/em> mschehl@marinecorpstimes.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– US-trained and most capable to utilize Western assets providing support.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They commonly wear black fatigues and are identified by the patch seen on the right shoulder in the picture, StratFor military analyst Paul Floyd told Marine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These guys are used as the point team in every major military effort,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While federal police cordoned off the village, the Iraqi counter-terrorism troops\u00a0CTS\u00a0directly engaged ISIS as the primary clearance force, OIR public affairs elaborated in an email to Military Times.\u00a0The liberation of Rutbah cleared the way to launch Sunday’s offensive to retake Fallujah, the first Iraqi city taken by ISIS in January 2014\u00a0and the site of two of the Marine Corps’ bloodiest battles during the eight-year war in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The counter-terror unit is involved in that fight, too, as roughly 1,500 members of the elite unit\u00a0Once again, a 1,500-strong CTS unit is\u00a0leading the way into Fallujah, backed by 10,000 Iraqi soldiers and thousands more\u00a08-10,000\u00a0national police,\u00a0CBS reported Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the Americans left, however, their fight against terror took a darker turn under Iraq’s controversial Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“From its very inception, CTS made many Iraqis and outsiders nervous,” retired Army colonel David Witty wrote in a 2015 Brookings Institute\u00a0study<\/a>. “Because of its elite status, operational and intelligence capabilities, secrecy, and mission of quickly neutralizing specified individuals, CTS had a tremendous potential for misuse.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With sectarian divisions ripping Iraq apart, Al-Maliki often deployed the Shi’a-dominated Rapid Deployment Force to brutally crush Sunni protests against his divisive policies, claiming the SWAT force was fighting terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2013, for example, they descended on a camp of 3-400 protesters in Ramadi to disperse them. 17 civilians were killed, according to\u00a0Human Rights Watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This opened the doors for ISIS’ blitzkrieg through the country in 2014, recalled Ali Muhammed Al-Thabhaw, a prominent Iraqi lawyer and civil rights activist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When the SWAT force used violence against the protesters, it planted the seeds of doubt [against the Iraqi government] for the people of Anbar province,” he said. “In the city of Hit, for example, most of the people welcomed ISIS for this very reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the tide turned against ISIS, the battle for a unified Iraq under Baghdad’s control may just be beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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