Isil propagandist killed by coalition air strike in Syria

AN AIR strike by the Us-led coalition has killed the founder of the Islamic State propaganda media outlet Amaq in the eastern Syrian province of Deir alzor, his brother said in a Facebook post.

The post said the strike killed Rayan Meshaal and his daughter in their home in the city of al-mayadin. Syrian opposition activists had been sharing news of Meshaal’s death on social media.

“I’m pleased to announce the martyrdom of my older brother Baraa Kadek, known as Rayan Meshaal ... in an air strike by the coalition,” the Facebook post reportedly by his brother said.

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (Isil) often claims responsibility for attacks worldwide through Amaq channels on social media.

Rita Katz, director of the Us-based SITE monitoring service, said on Twitter that a coalition strike allegedly killed Meshaal in Deir al-zor.

Mrs Katz added Amaq had “shown itself as Isil’s state media agency” since its founding in 2014 and had issued claims for at least two dozen attacks around the world.

Isil militants control swathes of Syria’s vast eastern deserts and most of Deir al-zor province bordering Iraq, but they have been on the back foot over the past year. With air strikes and special forces on the ground, the coalition is supporting an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias in a campaign to capture Raqqa city.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are advancing on Raqqa, Isil’s urban base of operations in Syria, and have seized tracts of territory in northern Syria from the jihadist group.

The SDF, which includes the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, expect to storm Raqqa in early summer with the help of new weapons from the coalition.

Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said coalition air strikes in al-mayadin last week killed more than 100 people including 40 children and other family members of Islamic State fighters.