Baghdad: Abu Omar al-Shishani,regarded by the Pentagon as Islamic State’s “minister of war”, was killed in a US strike in the Iraqi city of Shirqat, south of Mosul, confirmed a news agency linked to the terror group.
This comes month after the Pentagon and a British-based monitoring group said that had likely been killed in a U.S. air strike in Syria.
On Wednesday, the Isis propaganda agency Amaq claimed Shishani said he died trying to repel forces campaigning to retake the city of Mosul.
Officials at the Pentagon said they were aware of Wednesday’s report but could not confirm or deny it.
Shishani, also known as Omar the Chechen, ranked among America’s most wanted militants under a US programme that offered up to $5m for information to help remove him from the battlefield.
The red-bearded jihadist was said to be a close military adviser to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Born in 1986 in Georgia, Shishani fought with Chechen rebels against the Russians before joining the Georgian military in 2006.
He had fought against Russia in Georgia's brief 2008 war. He was said by followers to have relied heavily on him.
He later became a commander in northern Syria leading a group of foreign fighters who ultimately joined IS
In March, the Pentagon said it believed Shishani had died from injuries sustained in a US airstrike in northeastern Syria.
Amaq had previously denied Shishani was killed in March but didn't provide evidence he remained alive.
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