Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli is seen in an undated picture from the U.S. Department of State.
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Asked about the impact of these killings, Carter said, Leaders can be replaced. These leaders have been around for a long time, they are senior and experienced, and eliminating them is an important objective and result. In fact, he did not tell whether the killed had been carried out in Syria or Iraq, however, it was revealed by different officials that Qaduli was neutralized in a Special Forces raid in Syria.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter (R) and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford Jr.
Carter said local forces supported by the US-led coalition had “severed the main artery between Syria and northern Iraq”, making it “much harder for ISIL’s leaders and forces to travel between Raqqa and Mosul”. He did not say how big that increase might be. ISIS has been losing ground in Syria and Iraq recently after a military push recently began with targeting the Islamic State’s cash storage sites. Earlier this month the Pentagon said it killed Omar al-Shishani, described as the Islamic States minister of war, in an airstrike in Syria. He did not have the high public profile of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi or Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, who functions as the group’s spokesman.
Carter has said he never used a personal email account to transmit classified information. The Mosul native, reportedly about 57 years old, was one of the few surviving links to the era when al-Qaeda in Iraq, under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, soared to prominence at the forefront of the anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq.
“The removal of this ISIL leader will hamper the ability for them to conduct operations inside and outside of Iraq and Syria”, Mr Carter said. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is expected to make the announcement at the briefing, according to USA media reports. But they said American forces remain well behind the front lines.
“We also have to add a note of caution”, Fisher said.
Mr Carter has also said the United States is looking at a number of options to “accelerate” the fight against IS.
Carter said Haji Iman had been involved in external affairs for Islamic State and played a role in recruiting foreign fighters, but could not confirm he had anything to do with this week’s deadly attacks in Brussels, which killed 31 people.
Earlier this week military officials confirmed the creation of a US Marine outpost, dubbed Fire Base Bell, in Iraq.
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Meanwhile, Syrian government forces, backed by allied militia and Russian warplanes, are reportedly advancing further into Palmyra, battling Islamic State militants for control of the ancient city.
