The Pentagon has said on Friday (6 January) that a prominent Islamic State (Isis) leader was killed in a recent coalition air strike on Raqqa, Syria. The air strike was part of the US-led coalition forces' ongoing offensive, dubbed Operation Inherent Resolve, to free Iraq and Syria of IS (Daesh) rule.

The coalition said in a news release that they succeeded in eliminating Mahmud al-Isawi, a long-standing member of the jihadist group. Al-Isawi supported the militant group's media and intelligence structure in Fallujah before relocating to Raqqa, the release added.

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The Isis leader also "controlled the flow of instructions and finances between Isil-held areas and Isil leaders, and provided support to propaganda and intelligence outlets," the coalition said, using another acronym for the jihadist group — the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

With al-Isawi's death, the coalition successfully eliminated 16 significant members of the militant group in 2016, it said in the release, noting these losses have "degraded Isil's trans-regional attack and facilitation network, and is forcing Isil to increase their focus on internal security".

The coalition said that al-Isawi had a close working and personal relationship with Abd al-Basit al-Iraqi, the emir of the Middle East attack network of IS. Al-Iraqi was also killed in a coalition air strike on 2 November, 2016.

On Thursday (5 January), Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said that the series of air strikes has weakened the IS as well as al-Qaeda operatives in Syria. He added that the strikes will continue, both in Syria and Iraq, as the ongoing offensives intensified.

Coalition air strike against Islamic State
US-led coalition force said Islamic State leader Mahmud al-Isawi was killed in an air strike on Syria's Raqqa on 31 December, 2016 - File photo Reuters/U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago/Handout
Islamic State Isis Syria Iraq