A SYRIAN-based leader linked to the Paris attacks that killed 130 people was among 10 Islamic State leaders killed in the past month in targeted air strikes by a US-led coalition.
US Army Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the US-led military campaign against the Islamic State (also known as ISIL and ISIS), said Charaffe al Mouadan, who was linked to suspected Paris attack ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed on Dec. 24.
“We will continue to hunt ISIL leaders who are working to recruit, plan and inspire attacks against the United States of America and our allies,” Warren said, adding that others had plans on further attacking the west.
Warren did not provide details on whether or not Mouadan was specifically planning on attacking the United States, although he said Islamic State terrorists generally have “eventual designs” on attacking America, FOX News reported.
Other leaders reportedly killed this month were Abdul Qader Hakim, who assisted the militants with external operations and was linked to the Paris attack network, the ISIS emir of Kirkuk Province in Iraq, an ISIS commander and executioner, an ISIS deputy financial emir and a “forgery specialist” linked to the Paris attack network.
“We are striking at the head of the snake,” Warren said at a press briefing, according to NBC News. “We haven’t severed the head of the snake, and it’s still got fangs.”
The impact of the air strikes on Islamic State leadership can be seen in recent battlefield victories against the group, Warren said, according to Reuters. On Sunday, Dec. 27, the Iraqi army declared its first major victory against the Islamic State when it captured Ramadi, a provincial capital west of Baghdad that ISIL gained control of in May.
“Part of those successes is attributable to the fact that the organization is losing its leadership,” Warren said.
Operations are underway in the cities of Mosul and Fallujah, Warren said, which are still controlled by the Islamic State.
