May 31 airstrike in Syria kills chief cleric of IS - coalition

WASHINGTON, June 20 (KUNA) -- Coalition forces have killed Turki Al-Bin'ali, the self-proclaimed "Grand Mufti," or chief cleric, of the so-called Islamic State (IS), in an airstrike May 31 in Mayadin, Syria, the Combined Joint Task Force announced on Tuesday.
Al-Bin'ali had a central role in recruiting foreign terrorist fighters and provoking terrorist attacks around the world, the announcement said.
As chief cleric to IS since 2014, he provided propaganda to incite murder and other atrocities, attempted to legitimize the creation of the "caliphate," and was a close confidant of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the statement said. Leveraging his self-proclaimed religious role, his propaganda writings included the call for terrorists to pledge allegiance to Al-Baghdadi as "caliph," the statement said. His recruiting efforts for the terror group also included multiple recorded lectures aimed at justifying and encouraging the slaughter of innocents, it said. (end) rm.msa