A U.S.-led coalition air strike killed the top remaining Islamic State leader in Iraq, said Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAbu Yasir, the most senior Daesh leader in Iraq, was killed during an air strike near Kirkuk, Jan. 27, 2021,\u201d Marotto announced via a tweet Friday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yasir was responsible for \u201cdeveloping and relaying guidance to Daesh branches, networks and fighters,\u201d Marotto told Military Times. \u201cAs the Daesh supervisor of Iraq, Yasir disseminated operational guidance to his provinces relating to the expansion of terrorist efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The operation, a partnership between the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service and the U.S.-led coalition \u201cresulted in the deaths of 10 Daesh terrorists,\u201d Marotto tweeted. \u201cYasir\u2019s death is another significant blow to Daesh resurgence efforts in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThus far in 2021 our partners in Iraq and Syria completed 82 operations against Daesh, preventing 63 terrorists from committing acts of terror,\u201d he told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing coalition policy, Marotto declined to say if U.S. aircraft participated in the airstrike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a matter of policy CJTF-OIR does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target,\u201d he told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Central Command also declined to comment on whether U.S. aircraft were involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor security reasons, we cannot disclose detailed information about the type of aircraft involved,\u201d the CENTCOM media desk told Military Times in an email. \u201cThe operation in reference was conducted by Iraqi armed forces with support from the U.S. led Coalition, and is a testament to the effective partnership between Iraqi and Coalition forces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In August, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief <\/a>said that there were more than 10,000 Islamic State<\/a> fighters estimated to remain active in Iraq and Syria two years after the militant group\u2019s defeat, and their attacks have significantly increased in 2020, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that Islamic State fighters move freely \u201cin small cells between the two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n