Fadhil Barwari

Fadhil Jamil al-Barwari (1966 – 20 September 2018) was an Iraqi general who served as the commander of the ISOF-1 brigade, a unit of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces. He graduated from the Second Iraqi Military Academy in Zakho, and is known for his key role in retaking cities back that were previously controlled by Daesh during the War in Iraq (2013–2017).

Early life and education
Al-Barwari was born in Duhok in 1966 to Kurdish family from Zahko. Prior to joining the Peshmerga, a Kurdish resistance movement that opposed the Ba'athist government, he attended and graduated from the Second Iraqi Military Academy in Zahko.

He started out as a Lieutenant in 1988, 1st Lieutenant in 1991, Captain in 1992 and Major in 1994 in the Peshmerga. After rejoining, in the new Iraqi Army he became a Lieutenant Colonel in 2003, Colonel in 2005, Brigadier General in 2007 and Finally Major General in 2008.

Career
Al-Barwari rejoined the Iraqi Army in 2003 after the U.S. invasion. He quickly rose through the ranks of the military ladder, becoming the commanding officer of the Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion. In 2007, the 36th Commando Battalion was incorporated into the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS), within the 1st Iraqi Special Operations Brigade (ISOF-1) and designated as the 1st Commando Battalion. ICTS is an elite security agency trained by the Green Berets and equipped with American weaponry.

In April 2012 he was removed as commander of ISOF-1 due to health issues and instead became the advisor to the head of the Counter Terrorism Service, Talib Shaghati. In August 2013 he returned back to his position. In this capacity, he directed ISOF-1 in the 2014 Anbar campaign.

In August 2014 he led the brigade in the Mosul Dam offensive which saw Mosul Dam retaken by a joint Iraqi-Kurdish offensive.

In October 2017, al-Barwari led ISOF-1 in the Battle of Kirkuk which resulted in the Iraqi Army defeating the Peshmerga and reinstating control over the city.

Controversy
In November 2017, two former DynCorp workers testified in an Alexandria, Virginia federal court that al-Barwari paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars to arrange an overpriced lease of land the general owned near the Baghdad airport, starting in 2011.

Death
Al-Barwari died on 20 September 2018 from a heart attack.