Airstrikes killed 10 ISIS leaders ---US official
United States and coalition airstrikes killed 10 Islamic
State leaders over the past month, including several linked to the Paris
attacks or other plots against the West, a U.S. military official in Iraq said
Tuesday.
U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren told Pentagon reporters that the
militants were killed mainly by drone strikes in Iraq and Syria. He offered few
details, but said at least two of those killed were linked to the Paris attacks,
reports AP.
According to Warren, one of the insurgents killed was
Charaffe al Mouadan, a Syrian-based IS member who was directly linked to Abdel
Hamid Abaaoud, the Paris attack cell leader. Mouadan, who was killed by an
airstrike last Thursday in Syria, was planning additional attacks against the
West, Warren said.
Also killed was Abdel Kader Hakim, who was part of the
Islamic State group's effort to plan attacks against Western targets and
"had links" to the Paris attack network, Warren said.
Warren's announcement came as Belgian authorities said they
had arrested two men in connection with a suspected plot involving attacks
during the holiday season in Brussels. They said the plans involved attacks
similar to those that hit Paris on Nov. 13, when 130 people were killed and
hundreds more wounded by suicide bombers and gunmen. The Islamic State group
has claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks.
The U.S. is ramping up pressure on such high-value
militants. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama announced that he is
sending U.S. special operations forces into Iraq to conduct clandestine raids
targeting Islamic State group leaders. The commandos — likely about 100 — would
operate in small teams, gathering intelligence that will fuel airstrikes and
other operations.
So far, the Pentagon has not said when the special
operations forces will deploy.
Warren said that one of the other militants killed was from
Bangladesh but was educated as a computer systems engineer in the United
Kingdom. The insurgent, Siful Haque Sujan, was killed near Raqqa, Syria. He
worked as a computer hacker for the Islamic State group and coordinated
anti-surveillance technology and weapons development, Warren said.
"We're striking at the head of this snake," Warren
said. "We haven't severed the head of the snake yet, and it's still got
fangs. We have to be clear about that. There's much more fighting to do."
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