In Iraq, the top Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader, Jabbar Salman Ali Farhan al-Issawi, also known as Abu Yasser, was killed in an airstrike by a US-led military coalition
Jabbar Salman Ali Farhan al-Issawi, 43 was killed in a joint mission of US and Iraqi forces, informed the coalition. He was believed to have coordinated ISIS’s operations in Iraq and relayed guidance to the group’s fighters across the country.
The airstrike was conducted to check the resurging terror campaign after a double-suicide bombing in Baghdad in January.
His “death is another significant blow to Daesh (ISIS) resurgence efforts in Iraq,” said coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto.
Earlier, ISIS had claimed responsibility for the double-suicide bombing that killed 32 people in Baghdad last week, the deadliest strike to hit the Iraqi capital in four years.
“The Coalition will continue to remove key leaders from the battlefield and degrade the terrorist organization. Terrorists-you will never live in peace- you will be pursued to the ends of the earth,” said Col Wayne Marotto, Spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).
“We promised and fulfilled. I gave my word to pursue Daesh terrorists; we gave them a thundering response. Our heroic armed forces have eliminated Daesh commander Abu Yaser Al-Issawi as part of an intelligence-led operation,” added Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.
ISIS or Daesh, a self-appointed Caliphate as defenders of Muslims everywhere, once controlled about a third of Iraqi territory at its height and had declared the city of Mosul to be the capital of its “Caliphate”.
The terror group’s self-declared Caliphate was defeated by a US-led coalition at Baghuz in March 2019. However, it remains a potent force in the region.
The US still has about 2,500 troops left on three Iraqi military bases, though questions regarding how strong of a force is needed to keep ISIS at bay has complicated plans for a full withdrawal.