US and its partners in arms must eliminate ISIS leaders

The U.S.-led airstrike last week against the leaders of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria near the Iraqi hub of Mosul could well be the turning point in the war on the terrorist network.

If reports of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State, being critically wounded are confirmed, the ramifications would be just as huge as when U.S. Navy SEALS killed Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaida, the global terror group.

Bin Laden, the world’s No. 1 terrorist responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America’s homeland that claimed 3,000 lives, had been living with his family in Pakistan for six years when he was tracked down by the United States. The SEALS went in without the Pakistani government being alerted and killed bin Laden in his home.

In the ensuing three years, al-Qaida has gone from being a worldwide cohesive killing machine to a smattering of regional entities trying to destabilize the Middle East.

Enter ISIS, which has launched a religious crusade aimed at turning that region of the world into a caliphate.

The rise of ISIS has sent shock waves throughout the Mideast. Indeed, al-Baghdadi and his followers have been so brutal in dealing with Syrians and Iraqis they view as non-believers that al-Qaida has disavowed them.

ISIS’ occupation of large swaths of Iraq and parts of Syria has resulted in the massacre of hundreds of Arabs who are considered enemies of Islam.

Al-Baghdadi has made it known that the establishment of a caliphate based on Shariah law is inevitable and that he is to be the caliph. Indeed, he has adopted the name Islamic State for his organization.

ISIS, as it is commonly called, has become such a threat to Arab nations in the Mideast that traditional enemies are joining forces in the campaign to eliminate the terrorist organization.

But ISIS’ brutality isn’t confined to followers of Islam who are viewed with suspicion.

In August, the group released a video showing the beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley, who went missing in 2012 while covering the war in northern Syria. In September, another video was released showing American journalists Steven Sotloff being beheaded.

Obama’s pledge

The U.S.-led airstrike early Saturday targeting ISIS leaders in the western Iraqi border town of al-Qaim is significant for a couple of reasons: First, it shows that President Barack Obama was not simply posturing when he publicly pledged that the killings of the two Americans would not go unpunished.

Second, the airstrike is a clear indication that the United States and its allies in this war against the evil Islamic extremists have al-Baghdadi and members of his inner circle in their sights.

As this editorial was being written, reports of the ISIS leader being critically wounded remained vague, but a statement from U.S. Central Command left no doubt that the attack was well planned.

“This strike demonstrates the pressure we continue to place on the ISIL [ISIS] terrorist network and the group’s increasing limited freedom to maneuver, communicate and command,” the Central Command statement said.

The U.S. and its partners in arms must not let up on the airstrikes and other military operations.

It would be a bitter pill to swallow if al-Baghdadi (whose aide was killed) and other leaders escaped — the way bin Laden and members of his inner circle did during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan launched in the fall of 2001.

The world’s No. 1 terrorist was able to stay one step ahead of U.S. forces for years until he was killed in his home in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The leadership of ISIS must be eliminated.