US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, 29 October, said that the person likely to be first in line to replace Islamic State’s slain leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has also been “terminated”.
However, Trump did not identify the person or give more details on how he was killed.
Earlier, on Tuesday, reports had said that Abu al-Hasan al-Muhajir, an Islamic state spokesperson and a high-ranking figure within the jihadi group, was killed.
A senior US State Department official stated that he was killed in a US operation, after Syrian Kurdish YPG militia had stated earlier on Sunday that Mujahir had been killed in a joint raid between Kurdish-led and US forces.
Mazloum Abdi, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) General Commander, said it was “a continuation of the previous operation,” in which the Islamic State leader Baghdadi was killed over the weekend, reported Reuters.
Abdi described Muhajir as Baghdadi's right-hand man.
While talking to reporters on condition of anonymity, the US official stated that Muhajir was killed in Jarablus in Aleppo province in Syria.
He reportedly said that the operation led to the death of Baghdadi's “No 2” or “one of his No 2s”.
‘Baghdadi Died Like a Dog’
Trump had told reporters at an unusual press conference on Sunday, at The White House, that Baghdadi had been killed.
Trump stated that Baghdadi blew himself up with his suicide vest as he was chased to the dead end of a tunnel by the US service dogs during an American raid in northwest Syria.
“He died like a dog, like a coward. The world is now a much safer place,” the president had added.
Baghdadi had risen from obscurity to declare himself “caliph” of all Muslims as the leader of Islamic State. During his reign, he succeeded in inspiring a unique brand of lone wolf terrorist attacks, mainly executed in Europe and in the United States.
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters).
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