அமெரிக்கா அதிரடி - ஐ.எஸ் தீவிரவாத இயக்கத்தின் துணைத்தலைவன் பலி

அமெரிக்கா தலைமையிலான கூட்டுபடைகள் இன்று நடத்திய தாக்குதலில் ஐ.எஸ் தீவிரவாத இயக்கத்தின் துணைத்தலைவரான ஹஜி இமாம் பலியாகியுள்ளதாக தகவல்கள் வெளியாகியுள்ளன.

ஈராக் மற்றும் சிரியாவில் ஐ.எஸ் தீவிரவாதிகளுக்கு எதிராக அமெரிக்க தலைமையிலான கூட்டுப்படைகள் தொடர்ந்து தாக்குதலை நடத்தி வருகிறது.

ஐ.எஸ் தீவிரவாத இயக்கத்தின் துணைத் தலைவரான ஹஜி இமாம் என்பவரை உயிருடன் அல்லது பிணமாக பிடிக்க தகவல் தருபவருக்கு 7 மில்லியன் டொலர் பரிசு வழங்கப்படும் என அமெரிக்கா ஏற்கனவே அறிவித்திருந்தது.

Several key leaders of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including the group's second in command, were killed in a US raid in Syria earlier this week, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said.

Carter told at a press conference in Washington on Friday that the US forces had killed a senior ISIL leader known as Haji Iman, marking a further erosion of top leadership in the armed group, also known as ISIS, in Syria and Iraq.

"We are systematically eliminating ISIL's cabinet," Carter said.

"The removal of this ISIL leader will hamper the ability for them to conduct operations inside and outside of Iraq and Syria," Carter told reporters on the death of Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, referring to him as Haji Iman and saying he served as finance minister for the group.

The US defence secretary said that Haji Iman was a "well-known terrorist" within ISIL's ranks dating backs to its earliest iteration as al-Qaeda in Iraq....

Anti-ISIL operations

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said that the US defence secretary "stopped short of calling him no ISIL's number two".

"We also have to add a note of caution. That’s because back in May 2015, Iraqis said they had killed him in an air strikes then," he said.

The killing is the second of a top ISIL commander in weeks.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon said a man known as "Omar the Chechen" was dead after suffering injuries in a US-led coalition strike in northeastern Syria.

Carter said the development is part of a broader US strategy to pressure ISIL as Iraqi forces advance toward Mosul.

Top US general Joseph Dunford said he expected increased capabilities will be provided to Iraqis in preparation for Mosul operations in the coming weeks.

The US defence secretary also said that he would hold talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with his partners in the Gulf to build partnerships against ISIL.

"The United States military will continue to work intensively with our coalition partners to build on this progress, as our counterparts throughout our governments work to defend our homelands at the same time," he said.

Source: Al Jazeera