Militant outfit Islamic State has conformed that its second-in-command, Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, whose real name was Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, was killed in a USA air strike earlier this year.
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Although Adnani did not say in what circumstances Qurashi died, the U.S. had confirmed in an August 22 announcement that he had been killed on August 18 in a United States air strike near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. A White House spokesman said at the time that al-Hayali’s death would adversely impact the Islamic State’s operations, citing his influence in finance, media, operations, and logistics.
“Russia will be defeated”, Adnani said, adding that “Muslims everywhere to launch jihad against the Russians and the Americans”. An ISIS media operative known as Abu Abdullah was also killed in the airstrike.
Al-Turkmani is believed to have been a powerful figure in the Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s circle.
IS controls large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq and has set up an Islamic “caliphate” straddling both countries.
Last year, the USA leads a coalition that launched an air war against Isis in Syria and Iraq.
Al-Hayali had previously been a lieutenant colonel in the army of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and served in the government’s military intelligence and special forces units.
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Like many senior Iraqi jihadists, before joining the IS group, Hayali had been a member of Al-Qaeda’s Iraqi faction.
