Iraqi security forces kill senior Islamic State commander
Iraq's military said Abu Yaser al-Issawi was killed in a counterterrorism operation outside Kirkuk.
Iraqi security forces killed the man believed to be the second-highest commander of Islamic State (IS) and the group’s top leader in Iraq, Abu Yaser al-Issawi, during an operation on Thursday, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced.
“Our heroic armed forces have eliminated Daesh commander Abu Yaser al-Issawi as part of an intelligence-led operation,” Kadhimi tweeted.
Iraq’s Counterterrorism Service said its forces killed Issawi in the Wadi al-Shay area outside Kirkuk in coordination with Iraq’s National Intelligence Service.
The area is considered one of the remaining hideouts of IS sleeper cells that have terrorized local populations with assassinations and kidnappings since Iraq declared victory over the supposed caliphate in late 2017.
