ISIL number 2 dead: Iraq defense ministry
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense has announced the death of Abu Ala al Afri, the second-in-command of the ISIL, who had reportedly taken over leadership of the Takfiri terrorist group.
The ministry posted footage on the Internet, showing an airstrike by the US-led so-called international coalition against the group targeting a compound where al Afri was allegedly meeting other ISIL leaders.
A former physics teacher, the top militant had reportedly been left in charge of the group following the wounding of its leader Ibrahim al-Samarrai aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The alleged attack, which hit the city of Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq, also killed dozens of other militants.
The US State Department had offered a reward of up to USD seven million for information on Afri, also known as Abdul Rahman Mustafa Mohammed.
Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi government adviser, said recently that Samarrai had been temporarily replaced with Afri. The official had previously told The Guardian that Samarrai had been seriously injured in a US-led coalition attack in March.
“After Baghdadi’s (Samarrai's) wounding, he (Afri) has begun to head up Daesh (ISIL) with the help of officials responsible for other portfolios,” confirmed Hashimi, adding, “He will be the leader of Daesh if Baghdadi dies.”
Hashimi further said that Afri was more important than Baghdadi in the eyes of the Takfiri group’s leadership. He also said that Afri was living somewhere in the al-Hadar region of the Iraqi city of Mosul.
Iraq’s Military Intelligence Service issued a statement on Tuesday, saying Abu Walid, a senior leader of the group had been killed by Iraqi forces in the capital Baghdad.
The statement added that the Iraqi intelligence forces, with support from the National Security Agency, managed to kill the ISIL leader, appointed by the ISIL as the so-called leader of the “state of (Wilayat) Baghdad.”
HN/HMV/HRB
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