Islamic State confirms ‘minister of information’ killed

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Islamic State group said Monday that a senior operative considered the group’s information minister had been killed, confirming an earlier Pentagon report.

An IS statement on social media affirmed the “martyrdom” of Abu Mohammad al-Furqan, the nom de guerre of Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, saying he was an “emir” of the group’s central media body. It did not release any further details.

Last month the Pentagon said al-Fayad, also known as “Dr. Wa’il”, was killed in a precision strike on September 7 near Raqqa, the Syrian city that is the de facto capital of the Islamic State jihadist group.

He oversaw the group’s media production of videos showing torture and executions, said the Pentagon, describing him as “one of ISIL’s most senior leaders” and a close associate of Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, the IS group spokesman killed on August 30.

Since it announced a self-styled caliphate across Iraq and Syria in 2014, IS has become notorious for broadcasting its macabre tactics.

The group’s online network has taken advantage of social media’s instant publishing power to circulate footage of mass killings and beheadings.