Coalition Announces Death Of Several Islamic State Leaders In Syria And Iraq

Coalition airstrikes killed several senior Islamic State of Iraq and Syria propagandists and facilitators in Iraq and Syria, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials announced Thursday.

“The removal of these key ISIS leaders disrupts ISIS’s propaganda production, distribution, and the ability to fund ISIS’ terrorist activities,” officials said.

CJTF-OIR officials announced the deaths of the following ISIS terrorists:

• Abu Sulayman al-Iraqi, a senior ISIS propaganda official, was killed by a coalition airstrike near Mosul, Iraq, in early July. Al-Iraqi provided strategic guidance and production oversight for ISIS propaganda that recruited, indoctrinated and directed terrorists around the world.
• Bassam al-Jayfus, who handled ISIS funds for terror attacks, was killed by a coalition airstrike in Mayadin, Syria, July 18, 2017. His death causes a disruption to ISIS’s multinational money laundering network, which is used to pay for foreign terrorist fighters as well as terror plotting and attacks throughout the world.
• Rayaan Meshaal, a senior ISIS media official, was killed between May 25-27 by a coalition airstrike conducted near Mayadin, Syria. Meshaal was the head and founder of Amaq, ISIS’s official propaganda media outlet. Meshaal oversaw, authorized and disseminated ISIS digital propaganda to instigate and direct terror and recruit foreign terrorist fighters.
• Abu-Khattab al-Rawi, an ISIS media emir, was killed by a coalition airstrike in Ba’aj, Iraq, May 17, 2017. His death was announced by U.S. Central Command on May 26, 2017.
• Abu-Sayf al-‘Isawi, an ISIS media emir, was killed by a coalition airstrike in al-Qa’im, Iraq, April 27, 2017.
• Abu Ali al-Janubi, ISIS’s senior media director, was killed by a coalition airstrike in Mayadin, Syria, April 16, 2017.
• Abrahim al-Ansari, an ISIS propaganda official, was killed by a coalition airstrike in Qaim, Iraq, March 25, 2017. His death was announced by CJTF-OIR officials on March 31, 2017.

The deaths of these terrorists eliminates senior leaders and facilitators with extensive experience and training, task force officials said, and degrades the ability of ISIS to plan and conduct attacks on civilian targets in Iraq and Syria, as well throughout the region and in the West.

“The coalition will continue to exert pressure on ISIS senior leaders and associates across multiple networks in order to degrade, disrupt, and dismantle ISIS structures and remove the extremist terrorists throughout Iraq and Syria,” officials said.