ISIS raid footage 'shows raid in which Delta Force sergeant was killed in Iraq'

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Special Forces Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler, 39, shot during raid
Delta Force were helping Kurdish forces rescue ISIS hostages at the time
Helmet-camera footage purporting to show the raid has now emerged
Shows Americans working alongside Kurds to search the prisoners
Hostages are also seen running from the building as gunfire rings out
See full coverage of ISIS at www.dailymail.co.uk/isis

Published: 22:54 EST, 24 October 2015 | Updated: 03:10 EST, 26 October 2015

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Dramatic footage has emerged purporting to show the joint U.S.-Kurdish raid on an ISIS prison in which Special Forces Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler was killed.

In the footage men dressed in long white robes, some of which are spattered with blood, can be seen running out of a building surrounded by troops while gunfire crackles in the background.

Two videos apparently showing the same raid have emerged, one published by NBC News and obtained from news site, Arab24, and another published by the Washington Post and sourced from Kurdish news site, Rudaw.

Wheeler was named yesterday as the first American casualty in the war against ISIS after he was shot and killed during the late-night raid in Hawija.

Dramatic footage has emerged purporting to show the joint U.S.-Kurdish raid on an ISIS prison in which Special Forces Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler was killed

In the video, men dressed in long, white robes, some of which are spattered with blood, can be seen running out of a building surrounded by troops while gunfire crackles in the background

The prison-break was apparently carried out over fears the inmates were facing immediate execution by ISIS

His death marks the first U.S. casualty inside Iraq since military operations there ceased in 2011.

The prison-break was apparently carried out over fears that the inmates were facing immediate execution by ISIS.

In the footage a squad of around eight soldiers goes room-to-room inside what appears to be an ISIS compound, as one of the group's distinctive black-and-white flags hangs on the wall.

The men are well armed, carrying what appear to be American-made rifles while dressed in military fatigues, wearing Kevlar helmets equipped optic devices, possibly night-vision goggles.

The compound itself is rugged, with bar concrete walls and floor, and rubble littered around.

There appear to be bullet holes in most of the walls, though it is not clear whether they occurred during the raid, or from earlier activity.

American voices, speaking in English, can clearly be heard in the video, as well as several others shouting instructions to the inmates in Arabic

Prisoners dressed in gowns with no shoes on begin to emerge in a line behind them, coming out with their arms raised to show they are unarmed

The raid was the most significant against the Islamic State since May, when American special operations forces killed one of its senior leaders, Abu Sayyaf from Tunisia, in a raid in Syria

The footage obtained by the Washington Post, which appears to be a longer un-edited version of the NBC footage, shows troops standing in a corridor, searching prisoners before funneling them towards the exit.

American voices, speaking in English, can clearly be heard, as well as several others shouting instructions to the inmates in Arabic.

This appears to contradict statements from U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter that American personnel did not enter the compound until fighting started, though the sequence of events in the video is slightly unclear.

The film then shows the men moving back into the room with the flag hanging on the wall, when several people can be heard shouting in Arabic, before gunfire breaks out.

Some of the rescued people said ISIS militants had told them they would be executed after morning prayers

In the footage a squad of around eight soldiers goes room-to-room inside what appears to be an ISIS compound, as one of the group's distinctive black-and-white flags hangs on the wall

The clip then jumps to soldiers, whose weapons appear to be smoking, possibly after just being fired, filing out into a courtyard.

Moments later, prisoners dressed in gowns with no shoes on begin to emerge in a line behind them, coming out with their arms raised to show they are unarmed.

Dozens of men exit the compound as gunfire continues in the background, and several of the men's outfits appear spattered with blood, though it is not clear where this came from.

Casualty: Special Forces Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler, 39, was killed in a raid in Iraq this week. He is believed to have been a member of Delta Force

What the video does not show, however, is the moment that Wheeler was shot, nor what happened in the moments after he was hit.

In total, six ISIS fighters were arrested and more than 20 were killed in the operation, according to Army sources, while 70 prisoners were rescued.

Speaking about Wheeler's death yesterday, Carter said: 'He ran to the sound of the guns and he stood up.

'All the indications are it was his actions and that of one of his teammates that protected those that were involved in breaching the compound and made the mission a success.'

Wheeler was awarded the Purple Heart after his death, according to an Army statement.

Sgt Wheeler joined the Army in 1995 after graduating from Muldrow High School in Muldrow, Oklahoma.

He joined the elite Special Operations Command in 2004 and had been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan 11 times.

Wheeler initially joined as an infantryman with the 24th Infantry Regiment, he transferred to the Army Rangers in 1997 where he completed three deployments before joining Delta Force and deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan 11 another times.

His body was returned to the United States today, and a coffin draped in the Stars and Stripes was pictured being taken out of a military transport plane at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.

The raid in which he was killed was the most significant against Islamic State since May, when American special operations forces killed one of its senior leaders, Abu Sayyaf from Tunisia, in a raid in Syria.

The hostages rescued in the raid were all Arabs, including local residents and Islamic State fighters held as suspected spies, a U.S. official said.

Wheeler's body was returned to America soil today, his coffin landing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware

US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter stands at attention while a U.S. Army carry team moves the transfer case of Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler earlier today

The official told Reuters that 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'.

U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, said the possibility that Americans were among the hostages was not a consideration in carrying out the operation.

Some of the rescued people said Islamic State militants had told them they would be executed after morning prayers, Warren said.

The U.S. forces were acting as advisors then were sucked into the battle when Kurdish fighters came under heavy fire, he explained.

ISIS territory: The raid was launched just east of the ISIS stronghold of Hawija, in northern Iraq, in the largely Kurdish region of Kirkuk

'They were pinned down and they were beginning to take casualties, so the Americans in the heat of battle made a decision,' he said.

Air strikes were launched before and after the mission to block approaches to the prison and destroy it afterward, the U.S. defense official said.

Hawija is a stronghold of Islamic State militants who have captured several dozen Kurdish peshmerga fighters in battle.

Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has been for more than a year the target of daily air strikes in Iraq and Syria by a U.S.-led coalition.

Combat: Four Peshmerga soldiers - the Kurdish region's organised militia - were also wounded in the raid (Pictured, Kurdish peshmerga fighters take positions on the front line against ISIS militants in northern Iraq, file image)