Kurdish, US forces kill senior IS leader

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – In a joint operation between the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) General Directorate of Counterterrorism and the US Special Forces, a senior Islamic State (IS) member was killed in Mosul on Monday.

The operation was launched after gathering intelligence information about the location of IS leaders in Mosul, northern Iraq, according to the KRSC General Directorate of Counterterrorism.

The operation was conducted in southern Mosul, where Kurdish and US forces were deployed from a helicopter near Hamam al-Alil, in the heart of the IS capital. Senior IS leader Salman Abid Shabib al-Jibburi and two of his assistants were killed.

Jibburi, also known as Abu Saif, had a hand in many IS-planned attacks on different front lines in southwestern Mosul.

According to the counterterrorism announcement, Jibburi was previously the Amir (leader) of IS in Mosul. He was directing attacks to various front lines, including Makhmour Peshmerga front located in the southeast of Mosul.

Recently, Kurdish counterterrorism captured Malik Ra’aat Khalaf Jadou’, an influential member of the extremist group, who played a significant role in terrorist attacks inside and around Kirkuk.

On March 14, Mohamad Jamal Khweis, an American-Palestinian IS member surrendered himself to Peshmerga in the city of Sinjar (Shingal).

Previously, on Feb. 17, KRSC counterterrorism forces rescued a Swedish girl, 15-year-old Marlin Stivani Nivarlain, in the heart of IS-controlled territory near Mosul.

Reporting by Mewan Dolamari
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and Ava Homa

The following is the photo of Jibburi.