Head of IS finance, intelligence killed in northern Syria

RAQQA, Syria (Kurdistan24) – An Islamic State (IS) chief was killed by a coalition airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, US officials revealed on Friday.

Mahmud al-Isawi, a long-standing IS member who led the group’s media and intelligence, was killed by a precision airstrike in IS’ de facto capital of Raqqa on Dec. 31, 2016, the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) reported.

Isawi controlled the flow of instructions and finances between IS-held areas and the leaders of the group.

He also provided extensive support to propaganda and intelligence outlets used by the extremist group.

“Isawi was the 16th significant member of IS’ external operations network killed by coalition forces in 2016,” the CJTF stated.

The CJTF statement also said Isawi facilitated trans-regional travel with other external IS operations coordinators.

“[Isawi] had a personal relationship with Abd al-Basit al-Iraqi, the emir of [IS’] Middle East attack network, who was killed in a coalition airstrike on Nov. 2, 2016,” the statement continued.

Additionally, the United States Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk on Friday confirmed the death of Isawi.

“Another blow to [IS’] EXOPS network,” he wrote on Twitter.

Regarding the anti-IS ground operations in northern Syria, the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and its multi-ethnic surrogate Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are the primary recipients of US-led coalition air support and arms shipments.

Mostly from its special operations forces, the US has embedded nearly 300 soldiers in Syria with the YPG and SDF.

Since the insurgent group’s emergence, the Kurdish forces have been applauded for their bravery and perseverance in defeating the extremists.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany