--- title: Adviser Says ISIS Will Be Beaten to Death With Shovels description: The military’s top enlisted leader warned ISIS militants fighting in Iraq and Syria they will be beaten to death with shovels if they do not surrender. canonical: https://time.com/5097669/isis-iraq-syria-shovels/ author: W.J. Hennigan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-10T20:50:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:45.351Z article:section: Politics og:title: Top U.S. Military Adviser Says ISIS Fighters Will Be Beaten to Death With Shovels og:description: He also said they may be shot in the face. og:url: https://time.com/5097669/isis-iraq-syria-shovels/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Top U.S. Military Adviser Says ISIS Fighters Will Be Beaten to Death With Shovels twitter:description: He also said they may be shot in the face. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Top U.S. Military Adviser Says ISIS Fighters Will Be Beaten to Death With Shovels > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Donald Trump: The End of the Islamic State 'Is in Sight' [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump: The End of the Islamic State 'Is in Sight'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/65zSpI8F.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2017-10-21. President Donald Trump says the end of the Islamic State "is in sight" after the militant group was driven out of Raqqa, its self-declared capital in Syria._  by [W.J. Hennigan](https://time.com/author/w-j-hennigan/)  ## W.J. Hennigan Jan 10, 2018 8:50 PM UTC  by [W.J. Hennigan](https://time.com/author/w-j-hennigan/)  ## W.J. Hennigan Jan 10, 2018 8:50 PM UTC The U.S. military’s top enlisted leader warned ISIS militants fighting in Iraq and Syria on social media they will be shot in the face or beaten to death with shovels if they do not surrender. Army Command Sgt. Maj. John W. Troxell, senior enlisted adviser to Joint Chiefs chairman Joseph Dunford, spoke of the brutal violence Tuesday in posts on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SEAC%5FTroxell/status/950867762754318341) and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SEAC.JCS/photos/a.287915924566034.76840.287872244570402/1808460025844942/?type=3&theater) that featured a photo of a faceless U.S. service member wielding a small shovel, known as an “entrenching tool” in the military. “ISIS needs to understand that the Joint Force is on orders to annihilate them,” he posted. “So, they have two options should they decide to come up against the United States, our allies and partners: surrender or die!” Troxell said ISIS militants who turn themselves in will be detained, fed,and given a cot. “HOWEVER, if they choose not to surrender, then we will kill them with extreme prejudice, whether that be through security force assistance, by dropping bombs on them, shooting them in the face, or beating them to death with our entrenching tools.” The U.S.-led military coalition has driven ISIS from [the city centers](http://time.com/syria-raqqa-liberated/) and [vast swathes of territory](http://time.com/isis-mosul/) in Iraq and Syria under its so-called “caliphate.” The surviving militants now mainly operate in pocket of territory in eastern Syria along the Iraqi border, called the Middle Euphrates Valley. Defense Secretary James Mattis [told reporters at the Pentagon](https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1406064/mattis-says-operations-against-isis-will-change-in-2018/) on Dec. 29 the remaining ISIS fighters, estimated to be around 3,000, “will have to be hunted down.” But he stopped short of the colorful language used by Troxell. “We need to drive this down to the point where it can be handled by local authorities — police,” Mattis said. “But right now, it is still very much a military intelligence type of operation as the police try to set up local operations. Eventually, it will be rule of law and local security forces.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5097669/isis-iraq-syria-shovels/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5097669/isis-iraq-syria-shovels/"},"headline":"Top U.S. Military Adviser Says ISIS Fighters Will Be Beaten to Death With Shovels","datePublished":"2018-01-10T20:50:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:45.351Z","description":"The military’s top enlisted leader warned ISIS militants fighting in Iraq and Syria they will be beaten to death with shovels if they do not surrender.","url":"https://time.com/5097669/isis-iraq-syria-shovels/","keywords":["Military","Syria","Iraq","ISIS"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"W.J. 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