Footage emerges of US-Kurd raid on Islamic State prison

Footage has emerged purporting to show a joint Kurd-US raid on an Islamic State (IS) prison in northern Iraq which freed some 70 hostages.

US and Kurdish officials said the decision was taken to launch the joint-operation when it emerged that the hostages were facing “imminent mass execution”.

The Islamic State prison was located around 7 kilometres north of the town of Hawija, according to the security council of the Kurdistan region, whose counterterrorism forces took part.

Quoting a statement issued by the Kurdistan Region Security Council, pro-Kurdish website Rudaw which published the footage on Saturday, said 48 Peshmerga and 30 US Special Forces soldiers were dropped by air into the prison in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“KRSC had information that the prisoners were going to be executed on the same day the operation took place. According to the rescued prisoners, they had been told it was the last day of their life.” the statement said.

It added that graves had alread been dug to bury them.

One US soldier, later identified Master Sgt Joshua L Wheeler was killed during the raid.

Confirming the raid on Thursday, a US defence official said: “It was a deliberately planned operation, but it was also done with the knowledge that imminent action was needed to save the lives of these people”.

Five US helicopters launched from Erbil were involved in the mission, and the United States was providing helicopter lift, intelligence support, air strike support, and advisory support to the peshmerga, the US defence official said.

The official said around 20 of the hostages were members of Iraqi security forces.

“Some of the remainder were Daesh (Islamic State) ... fighters that Daesh thought were spies,” the official said. “The rest of them were citizens of the local town”.

More than 20 Islamic State militants were killed and six detained, the security council said.

Islamic State called the operation “unsuccessful” but acknowledged casualties among its fighters.

In a statement distributed online on Thursday by supporters, it said US gunships had shelled areas around the prison to prevent the arrival of reinforcements, then clashed with militants for two hours.

The statement confirmed US claims that some guards had been killed and others detained in the operation.