Fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road in Mosul, Iraq, on June 23, 2014. (photo credit: AP/File)
The second-in-command of the Islamic State jihadist group has been killed in a US air strike in northern Iraq, the White House said Friday.
The National Security Council identified the slain militant as Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, also known as Haji Mutaz, and said he was IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s senior deputy.
US forces say they were able to kill him, along with an IS “media operative” known as Abu Abdullah, on August 18 in a strike on a vehicle near the city of Mosul.
The White House described Al-Hayali as a member of the Islamic State’s ruling council, and “a primary coordinator for moving large amounts of weapons, explosives, vehicles and people between Iraq and Syria.
Picture believed to be Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, circulated in Iraqi media (Courtesy)
“He supported ISIL operations in both countries and was in charge of ISIL operations in Iraq, where he was instrumental in planning operations over the past two years, including the ISIL offensive in Mosul in June 2014,” it said, referring to Islamic State by the acronym for Islamic State in the Levant.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Like many senior Iraqi jihadists, before joining the IS group, Al-Hayali had been a member of al-Qaeda’s Iraqi faction.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
