Until January 1991, Nanić was an officer of the Yugoslav People's Army, when he returned to his home in Bužim due to a broken leg.

His younger brother Nevzet was killed near Bosanska Krupa on 30 June 1992, shortly after the start of the war in Bosnia.

[4] Initially Nanić was involved in training and forming new units however after his brother's death he became the commander of the 505th Brigade of the 5th Corps led by Brigadier General Atif Dudaković.

Izet Nanić was killed during Operation Storm on 5 August 1995 only four months before the Dayton Agreement and the end of the Bosnian war.

Similar streets bearing his name are found in his hometown of Bužim, near the mausoleum shared with his brother, in Cazin, and Bosanska Krupa.