ISIS Leader’s Aide Killed In U.S. Airstrike In Iraq, Abu Hajar Al-Sufi Is One Of Three Terrorists Dead
Reports from the Middle East are claiming the ISIS leader’s aide was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq that took out three members of the ISIS terrorist group. Abu Hajar Al-Sufi was one of the three named and was considered a major leader in the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
In a related report by The Inquisitr, some people are confused about whether to call the Islamic terrorist group ISIS, ISIL, IS or the Islamic Caliphate. So we would suggest reading our article on what they should be called. Of course, if you want to be even more confused by the ISIS fighters then you should check out the ISIS cat photo memes that attempt to use kittens as propaganda for the Islamic state.
The strike on the ISIS stronghold of Mosul killed the ISIS leader’s aide. Abu Hajar Al-Sufi, or Abu Hajar Al-Suri depending on the report, was considered the right hand man to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Al-Sufi was an explosives operative and the military leader of nearby Tel Afar, according to sources that confirmed the death on the condition of anonymity. The Iraqi Defense Ministry also claim the ISIS leader’s aide killed in the attack.
The United States has been carrying out a series of targeted air strikes along the northern regions of Iraq in response to the incoming wave of jihadi fighters attempting to make Iraq part of the Islamic calihate. US military officials did confirm the sortie against ISIS fighters in Iraq damaged or destroyed 16 armed vehicles near the Mosul Dam, although not any specific deaths. Pentagon Spokesman Col. Steve Warren could not confirm the death of the ISIS leader’s aide, saying that ISIS leaders had not been specifically targeted by the U.S. airstrike. But Warren did say that if ISIS leaders were present “inside troop formations they are likely to be killed.”
According to the Daily Mail, the if the ISIS leader’s aide was killed as is believed it could indicate how the ISIS leadership views the situation in northern Iraq.
“While the significance of Al-Sufi’s death for al-Baghdadi and ISIS is not yet clear, the loss of his right-hand man cannot be underestimated. The presence of Al-Sufi in Mosul shows that al-Baghdadi could be worried about losing Mosul to a combination of US airstrikes and Kurdish and Iraqi counter attacks. Sending his right-hand man there to oversee the fight would go a long way to confirming this, but regardless, Al-Sufi’s death is a blow to the ISIS hierarchy.”
Although the ISIS leader’s aide’s death still has yet to be confirmed Secretary of State John Kerry was also seen quietly passing President Obama a note during an address by British Prime Minister David Cameron during the NATO summit in Wales earlier this afternoon. It’s believed that it is possible President Obama learned of the death of Abu Hajar Al-Sufi through this note because he was notably absent for a meeting focused on Ukraine which took place later on in the day.
