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US strike 'kills IS propaganda chief'

September 16, 2016

The US military has killed a key member of the so-called "Islamic State" militant group, Washington has announced. The man was an associate of another high-ranking "Islamic State" member killed last month.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters shown in propaganda photos released by the militants. Syria PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY - ZUMAp138
Image: Imago/ZUMA Press

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Friday that a US-led coalition airstrike had killed the man considered to be the information minister for "Islamic State" (IS).

Wa'il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, also known as Dr. Wa'il, was killed on September 7 near Raqqa, in Syria. One of the group's most senior leaders, Wa'il "oversaw ISIL's production of terrorist propaganda videos showing torture and executions," Cook said, using an alternate name for IS.

Cook said the US and its coalition partners would continue to target IS, which holds territory in Iraq and Syria and has sympathizers in many other countries.

The death of Abu Mohammed al-Adnani was confirmed in late AugustImage: picture-alliance/AP/Militant Photo

Another IS leader killed

The announcement comes several days after the Pentagon confirmed that an airstrike had killed another top IS figure, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who helped coordinate the group's attacks abroad.

"The strike near al-Bab, Syria, removes from the battlefield ISIL's chief propagandist, recruiter and architect of external terrorist operations," Cook said on Tuesday.

Wa'il was closely affiliated with al-Adnani, who IS had confirmed dead in late August.

blc/cmk (AFP, Reuters)

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