BAGHDAD, April 1 (KUNA) -- Second man in command in the so-called Islamic State (IS) organization has been killed in an air strike on the town of Al-Qaem in the west of Al-Anbar province, the military said on Saturday.
Iraqi Air Force aircraft, tipped off by the intelligence, have scrambled into action bombing headquarters of the militant group, "Daesh," in Al-Qaem, killing Iyad Hamed Al-Jumaili, known by his nom de guerre Abu Yahia, the second in command hierarchy of the group, calling itself the Islamic State.
The military described position of the slain leader as minister of war.
Other ranking chiefs of the organization were also killed in the air strike, said apparatus of the war media, affiliated to the joint operations room command, in a statement. They were named as Turki Jamal Al-Dulaimi (Abu Hajar) and Daesh's administrative chief in Al-Qaem, Salem Mudhafar Al-Ajmi, also called Abu Khattab.
Al-Qaem, situated close to the Syrian-Iraqi border, is reportedly eyed by the group as alternative sanctuary for the IS chiefs, in the event Daesh is defeated in Mosul.
The military declaration about the air direct score on senior Daesh leaders coincided with house-to-house bitter fighting in the western sector of Mosul, where government forces were trying to capture the city mosque, where the group founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had declared his caliphate. (end) ahh.rk