The death of Mutazz, who also goes by several other names such as Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, is a bit of a mystery.
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Also killed in Tuesday’s air strike was an ISIL media operative known as Abu Abdullah, Price said.
Haji Mutazz, the leader of ISIS operations in Iraq and a top military planner for the group, died August . 18 when the vehicle he was riding in was struck by a airborne explosive device near Mosul.
He is the second senior leader of the extremist group killed by the United States since May.
The Islamic State group’s (ISIS or ISIL) second-in-command was killed in an airstrike by the US-led coalition in Mosul, the city in northern Iraq that has been in ISIS hands for more than a year, US and Iraqi officials announced Friday.
However, the U.S. Central Command hasn’t issued any statements regarding the death of al-Hayyali yet. “He supported ISIL operations in both [Iraq and Syria] and was in charge of ISIL operations in Iraq”. That information seems to have been based on wrong identification, a U.S. official told CNN.
While the U.S.is confirming Mutazz’s death, this is the second time officials have said he’s been killed in an airstrike.
The information about the drone strike this week is being very closely held by the government because of its sensitivity.
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But one U.S. official told CNN the strike was based on “actionable intelligence”, meaning the Pentagon knew Mutazz was in a particular area at a particular time. The Islamic State group has overrun large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and stated its intention to set up a independent Islamic country in the region.
