IS chief mouthpiece dies in joint US-Kurd operation hours after his leader taken out
SYRIAN Kurdish forces say they have killed a senior spokesman for the so-called Islamic State group in a joint operation with US troops in northern Syria.
The killing of Abu Hassan al-Muhajir comes just hours after US special forces killed the extremist group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said his group’s intelligence co-operated with the US military to target al-Muhajir, who was a key aide to al-Baghdadi, in a village near Jarablus, a town in northwestern Syria.
If confirmed, the death would be another blow to Islamic State.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported al-Muhajir’s death, saying he was travelling in a convoy made up of an oil tanker and a car.
The US raid that killed al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of Islamic State who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world’s most wanted terrorist, took place just before midnight on Saturday
Rubble at the site of the US-led operation which resulted in the death of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (below right) and (top right) Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, who Syrian Kurdish forces say has also been killed
in Syria’s Idlib province. It was a milestone in the fight against Islamic State, which brutalised much of Syria and Iraq and sought to direct a global campaign from a self-declared ‘caliphate’.
A years-long campaign by American and allied forces led to the recapture of the group’s territorial holdings, but its violent ideology has continued to inspire attacks.
Syrian Kurdish forces spokesbunal
man Mustafa Bali said his fighters believe al-Muhajir was in Jarablus to facilitate al-Baghdadi’s travels to the area, which is administered by Turkey-backed fighters.
“More (Islamic State figures) remain hiding in the area,” Mr Bali said late on Sunday.
Little is known about al-Muhajir, who assumed the role of a spokesman after his predecessor was killed in 2016. He was believed to be a possible successor to al-Baghdadi.
Al-Baghdadi’s identity was confirmed by a DNA test conducted on-site, US President Donald Trump had said. The operation coincided with a low point in Mr Trump’s presidency as he is mired in impeachment proceedings and facing widespread Republican condemnation for his Syria policy.
Mike Rogers, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee in US congress, said five years of US and coalition efforts inside Syria have not eliminated the IS threat.
He said: “While the death of its leader is a tremendous blow for the group, about 10,000 Isis (another term for IS) fighters remain in the region and will continue to carry out guerrilla attacks and seek new territory.
According to defence officials in Iraq and Afghanistan who study IS, the group is growing in power and numbers outside of Syria.