The U.S. Has Killed the 'Operational Commander and Second-in-Command of the Islamic State'

Ashton Carter, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, has confirmed that U.S. military forces have killed Haji Iman, a senior leader of the Islamic State (ISIS). According to the Associated Press, Mr. Carter confirmed on Friday, March 25, that several other senior officials of the Islamic State were also killed in this operation. The U.S. Secretary of Defense referred to Haji Iman as the 'finance minister' of ISIS and stated that he was a 'recognized terrorist' involved in the group's operations in Syria and Iraq. Ashton Carter emphasized that the United States is 'systematically destroying the cabinet of the ISIS government.' Prior to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, NBC News reported that Haji Iman, the second-in-command of the Islamic State in Syria, was killed in a U.S. special forces operation. NBC News, citing senior U.S. officials, reported that the operation took place on Thursday, March 24. In the NBC report, the Islamic State commander Abdul Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, known as 'Haji Iman,' was identified as the operational commander of ISIS. The U.S. had placed a $7 million bounty on this senior ISIS member. Haji Iman was noted as a commander of the Islamic State in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. NBC reported that U.S. special forces attempted to capture Haji Iman alive while he was in a vehicle, but this was not possible, and the senior ISIS official and three of his companions were killed by U.S. forces. However, the U.S. Secretary of Defense stated that he would not comment on whether Haji Iman was killed in an airstrike or during the special forces operation. In recent weeks, the U.S. had also killed Omar al-Shishani, another senior commander of the Islamic State in Syria. In this context, the Iraqi army has 'begun' operations to retake Mosul from ISIS, while ISIS has called for an increase in terrorist operations by its supporters.