They got Bin Laden, Hussein, and Zarqawi — now these trained killers are going after Islamic State

OFFICIALLY, they’re known as the Joint Special Operations Command. Unofficially, they’re called the “Hunter-Killers”, and Obama has set them on IS.

THEY are officially called the Joint Special Operations Command, but are better known as “Hunter-Killers” — and US President Barack Obama has set them loose.

The elite special forces unit is being sent to eliminate the Islamic State hierarchy amid fears the deadly cult is growing faster than the US-led coalition can contain it.

The unit is even more secretive than Australian Special Air Service troops, and are rarely talked about in great detail, even among Washington DC politicians.

Because when these guys get to business, they usually get results. Some of their biggest scalps so far have included Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the mastermind behind many Al-Qaeda bombings.

Obama warned Islamic State leaders they would be individually targeted in an address to the nation this week.

“ISIL leaders cannot hide and our next message to them is simple: You are next,” he said.

The unit going after IS will be led by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and will include up to 200 soldiers, the Daily Beast reports.

US special forces soldiers are now hunting Islamic State leadership.

Details of the unit’s existence emerged during congressional hearings last week where Defense Secretary Ash Carter gave a vague outline of some of the things they would be doing in Iraq and Syria — including raids, releasing hostages, gathering intelligence and capture Islamic State leaders.

There are many other things that will never see the light of day, such is the secrecy of their missions, with members signing strict nondisclosure agreements about what they do while they serve.

At first they were created for short-term counterterrorist missions and raids to obtain weapons of mass destruction.

But the command’s real expertise is in manhunts and it has been working on improving that capability most significantly since the September 11 attacks in 2001.

This week US President Barack Obama warned IS leaders: “You are next.”

In his book Relentless Strike, military journalist Sean Naylor revealed JSOC began plotting against Saddam Hussein as far back as 1990, but abandoned plans to assassinate him because it was not considered feasible. He also revealed elite soldiers had been working covertly in Syria since 2008 when they killed Abu Ghadiyah, an Iraqi militant who helped smuggle weapons, foreign fighters and money into Iraq, The Washington Post reported.

Drug lords in South America have been targets for JSOC operatives, with missions completed in Colombia, targeting drug lord Pablo Escobar, but many of the missions are kept deliberately away from the front pages.

The 2011 capture of bin Laden changed all that.

According to The Atlantic, JSOC operatives were uncomfortable with the level of public recognition for the mission that killed al-Qaeda leader in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

It was a dilemma for the unit. On one hand it showcased the “man-hunting” capabilities and also demonstrated to political and military leaders how effective a special ops-led campaign could be, but also went against everything many who were originally behind the creation of the unit believed in.

And now JSOC are at it again. On a manhunt, this time with the Islamic State leaders in their sights.