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Air strike kills IS leader in Syria

The Pentagon says the death of an Islamic State leader in Syria will impact the group's ability to integrate foreign fighters into the Syria/Iraq conflict.

US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles
IS leader who recruited fighters for the group has been killed in a coalition air strike in Syria. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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A senior Islamic State leader who recruited funds and fighters and procured weapons for the jihadists has been killed in a coalition air strike in Syria.

Tariq bin Tahar al-Awni al-Harzi was killed in the northern city of Shaddadi on June 16, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said in a statement on Thursday.

His brother Ali, an IS recruiter and person of interest in the 2012 Benghazi attack, was killed by an air strike in Iraq a day earlier.

The Pentagon says Harzi was "responsible for moving people and material into Syria and Iraq" and also raised funds to recruit fighters and facilitate travel.

In addition, he supported the Islamic State group by procuring and shipping weapons from Libya to Syria, where the militants have taken large swathes of territory.

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He also aided with suicide attacks.

The Pentagon says his death is a significant blow to the Islamic State group.

"His death will impact ISIL's ability to integrate foreign terrorist fighters into the Syrian and Iraqi fight as well as to move people and equipment across the border between Syria and Iraq," Davis said, using an alternative acronym for the group.


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