Islamic State commander al-Shishani targeted by US airstrike
Islamic State commander al-Shishani targeted by US airstrike
A top Islamic State group commander, Abu Omar al-Shishani, was targeted in a coalition airstrike in Syria, a US official said Tuesday, however his fate remains unknown.
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Al-Shishani is a close aide to the IS chief al-Baghdadi [AFP]
A top Islamic State group (IS) commander, Abu Omar al-Shishani, was targeted in a coalition airstrike in Syria, a US official said Tuesday, without specifying his fate.
Al-Shishani, the Chechen militant whose real name is Tarkhan Batirashvili was reportedly targeted last Friday near the northeast Syrian town of al-Shaddadi, which was liberated from IS control on 22 February.
Brett McGurk, the US president's special envoy to the anti-IS coalition confirmed that al-Shishani was targeted in a tweet on Tuesday.
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McGurk said al-Shishani's presence close to al-Shaddadi shows the importance of this area to IS.
Born in 1986 in Georgia, Shishani had a reputation as a close military adviser to Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The US State Depratment had placed a $5 million reward on al-Shishani's head. He is believed to be a former member of an elite Georgian military unit.
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