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IS second-in-command 'killed in US raid in Syria' IS senior leader 'killed in US raid in Syria'
(35 minutes later)
The second-in-command of so-called Islamic State (IS) has been killed in a US operation in Syria, US media report. The US has announced that it has killed a number of leading Islamic State (IS) militants in the past week, including the purported second-in-command.
Abdul Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, an Iraqi also known as Hajji Iman, died during a raid by US special forces on Thursday, officials told NBC News. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said the deaths of Abdul Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli and other members of the group's "cabinet" would hamper its operations.
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter was expected to confirm the jihadist's death and provide details of the raid in a statement at 14:30 GMT. He gave no details about how Qaduli, an Iraqi also known as Hajji Iman, died.
However, NBC News earlier reported he was killed during a raid by US special forces in Syria on Thursday morning.
Defence officials said the troops landed in helicopters and lay in wait as Qaduli drove past them in a car.
There was an attempt to capture Qaduli alive, but the situation escalated and the militant and three other people in the vehicle were killed, the officials added.
The US authorities had offered a reward of $7m (£5m) for Qaduli.The US authorities had offered a reward of $7m (£5m) for Qaduli.
Defence officials told NBC correspondent Richard Engel that US special operations forces landed in helicopters in Syria early on Thursday morning. Using an acronym for IS based on its former name, Mr Carter told a news conference in Washington on Friday: "We are systematically eliminating Isil's cabinet."
They lay in wait as Qaduli drove past them in a car, and were able to stop it. He described Qaduli as a "senior leader", who served as a finance minister and who was also responsible for "external affairs and plots".
There was an attempt to capture Qaduli alive, but the situation escalated and the militant and three other people in the vehicle were killed, the officials said. The ethnic Turkmen was born in 1957 or 1959 in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which has been controlled by IS since 2014, according to the US.
Qaduli, an ethnic Turkmen, was born in 1957 or 1959 in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which has been controlled by IS since 2014. He joined al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) - a precursor of IS - in 2004 under the leadership of the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, serving as his deputy and the leader in Mosul.
He joined al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) - a precursor of IS - in 2004 under the leadership of the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, serving as his deputy and the local leader in Mosul, according to the US.
After his release from an Iraqi prison in early 2012, he joined IS forces in Syria.After his release from an Iraqi prison in early 2012, he joined IS forces in Syria.
Last year, some sources identified Qaduli as "Abu Alaa al-Afari", who was said to have taken temporary charge of IS after its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was allegedly injured in an air strike. Last year, some sources identified Qaduli as the second-in-command of IS, known as "Abu Alaa al-Afari", who was said to have taken temporary charge of IS after its overall leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was allegedly injured in an air strike.
Mr Carter will also confirm on Friday the death of the "minister of war" of IS earlier this month, according to the Daily Beast. "The removal of this Isil leader will hamper the organisation's ability to conduct operations both inside and outside of Iraq and Syria," Mr Carter said.
Tarkhan Batirashvili, a Georgian known as Omar Shishani, was the target of a US air strike in north-eastern Syria on 4 March, US officials say. "This is the second senior Isil leader we have targeted this month, after confirming the death of Isil's so-called 'minister of war' a short time ago."
Tarkhan Batirashvili, a Georgian known as Omar Shishani, died of the injuries he sustained in a US air strike in north-eastern Syria on 4 March, US officials said last week. However, the IS-linked Amaq news agency subsequently cited an unidentified source as denying Shishani was dead.
Mr Carter said the US military had killed other senior IS figures in recent days.
They included a man known as Abu Sara, who was tasked with paying fighters in northern Iraq, and "a number of Isil associates who were directly involved in external plotting and training", the defence secretary added.