Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service

The Counter Terrorism Service is a special operations force of Iraq. The unit was created in 1950, but was disbanded and recruited from scratch by the United States federal government after the 2003 U.S. invasion. It was originally known as the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) (Arabic: قوات العمليات الخاصة العراقية). 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]

Counter Terrorism Service
Shoulder badge
Founded
  • 1950-2003
  • Dec 2003 (current form)
Country Iraq
BranchIraqi Armed Forces
TypeSpecial Forces
Sizesee below
Part of Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (reports directly to Prime Minister of Iraq)
Garrison/HQGreen Zone, Baghdad
Nickname(s)The Golden Division
Motto(s)"Raise The Black"
Colors  Black
Engagements
Websitehttps://www.isof-iq.com/
Commanders
Current
commander		Abdul Wahab Saadi[1]
Notable
commanders		Khalil Dabbagh
Talib Shaghati
Fadhil Barwari
Insignia
ICTB Flag
ISOF Flag

History

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 to 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]

Command structure
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

ISOF

1st 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)

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 Battalion

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]

Weapons

Assault rifles and battle rifles

Sniper rifles and anti material rifles

Handguns

Machine guns

Launchers and grenade launchers

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iraqi Special Operations Forces.
  1. Zhelwan Z. Wali. "PM Kadhimi returns prominent lieutenant to counter-terrorism forces". Rudaw. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  2. Witty 2015, p. 10.
  3. Eisenstadt, Jane's Intelligence Review.
  4. 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
  5. "Special Operations: Iraqi Special Operations Forces". StrategyPage. StrategyWorld.com. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  6. Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq - March 2008 Report to Congress.
  7. Neville 2015, p. 226.
  8. "2 Most Wanted Al Qaeda Leaders in Iraq Killed by U.S., Iraqi Forces" FoxNews, 19 April 2010.
  9. 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.
  10. Gordon 2022, p. 10.
  11. Gordon 2022, p. 11.
  12. Ramsay, Stuart (20 October 2016). "Elite troops strengthen battle for Mosul". Sky News. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  13. "Iraqi Army enters Mosul: Live updates day 16".
  14. "Iraqi PM declares victory over Islamic State in Mosul". Reuters. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  15. https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2018/fy2018_CTEF_J-Book_Final_Embargoed.pdf
  16. Witty 2015, p. 12.
  17. Witty 2015, p. 25.
  18. "DVIDS - Images - Iraqi Special Operations Special Tactics Unit [Image 3 of 6]". dvidshub.net. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  19. "Golden Division / Iraqi National Counter-Terrorism Force (INCTF) Counter-Terrorism Service [CTS]".
  20. "Remington R4s Reach Iraq". Silah Report. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  21. "ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 1 – Personal Equipment – Armament Research Services". 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  22. "ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 1 – Personal Equipment – Armament Research Services". 27 November 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  23. "VHS K2 Bullpup in Iraq". www.thefirearmblog.com. 21 October 2016.
  24. "Korean K2C in Iraq, on both sides". www.thefirearmblog.com. 30 September 2016.
  25. "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.
  26. "Iraqi CT Sniper in Comfy Action". www.thefirearmblog.com. 13 October 2017.
  27. "Iranian AM50 and Russian ORSIS T-5000 rifles in Iraq". www.thefirearmblog.com. 18 June 2014.
  28. "Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) member armed with K14 sniper rifle and K2C Carbine". www.pinterest.com.
  29. "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. 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.
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