9781422277133

ISIS militants had occupied Hawija, a city of about 100,000 people, for more than a year, and their pres- ence was well known to everyone who lived there. After forcing their way into the city in 2014, they main- tained control by building a wall of sand 10 feet high and planting minefields of handmade IEDs (impro- vised explosive devices) that would be lethal to any trespassers.

Peshmerga history

The terrorist group used any reason—or no reason at all—to show its muscle. They murdered their enemies and even innocent people in the most brutal ways. In the days leading up to the October raid, ISIS soldiers had killed several citizens and hung up their bodies around the town—a warning to those who remained. So when the peshmerga got word that ISIS had imprisoned their fellow soldiers and were planning to kill them, they knew that staging a rescue would be difficult and risky. They would need a good plan to breach the prison and they would need help pulling it off. The Kurdistan Regional Government put out a plea for help from the Amer- ican Delta Force troops stationed nearby. For years, the US and Kurdish sol- diers had worked with each other to conduct military operations against ISIS. Everyone knew the risks, but there was no way they were going to knowingly let ISIS murder more people. Together, they were going in.

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