WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition against the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, has carried out an airstrike on November 12 near Syria’s Raqqa eliminating the jihadists’ emir responsible for conducting external attacks, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. John Dorrian said on Wednesday.
"Coalition forces conducted a strike resulting in the death of Iraqi national Abd ad-Basit al-Iraqi, who is emir of ISIL’s [Islamic State] Middle East external networks, including American, Turkish and European targets," Dorrian stated.
The US-led coalition of more than 60 nations has been conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq since 2014. However, the strikes in Syria are not authorized by the legitimate government of President Bashar Assad or by the UN Security Council.
The coalition forces are fighting two major operations to oust the Daesh from both Mosul and Raqqa.
The Islamic State, also known as Daesh in Arabic, is outlawed in the United States, Russia and other countries.
