The Pentagon has not yet confirmed anything. The US Department of Defense has confirmed a coordinated military mission in anticipation of the offensive to resume the second-largest city of Iraq in the hands of terrorists. The attack will begin by May and will involve 25 thousand Iraqi soldiers.
Abdul Rahman Mustafa al-Qardashi, known as Abu Ala al-Afri, President of the Shura Council and coordinator of the provinces of the Islamic State in Iraq, appointed successor to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was allegedly killed in the mosque of al -Shuhada, in the village of al-Iyadhiya, near Tal Afar. A dozen militants would have been killed with al-Afri.
We are aware - write from CENTCOM - of news of an air attack on Tal Afar aimed at eliminating ISIS number two. News we cannot confirm - they add from the Central Command - but we categorically exclude our missile attack on a mosque. The targeting process - explain CENTCOM - takes into account the potential collateral risks and possible victims among civilians.
In a few hours we'll find out the truth about Abu Alaa al-Afri.
Who is the professor of physics, leader of ISIS
Al-Afri, of Iraqi origin, was born near al-Hadar (80 km south of Mosul). Physics teacher at a school in Tal Afar, a city in northwest Iraq, Nineveh district, has published dozens of religious studies on respect for sharia. A member of the government of Saddam Hussein, he then moved to Afghanistan in 1998 where he began his career in al-Qaeda, joining Abu Musab al Zarqawi, initially as head of Sharia law enforcement.
Immediately noticed by Bin Laden who elected him as his pupil, in the 2010 he was appointed by the latter as the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, immediately after the elimination of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri . Supporter and follower of the jihadist theories of Abu Musaab al-Suri, al-Afri is one of the best minds of ISIS. He should be credited with the new alliance signed with the Syrian terrorists of the Jabhat al-Nusra front.
A skilled speaker and diplomat, he is highly regarded among the organization's prominent jihadists. The power of al-Afri has grown in recent times, immediately after the ousting of Abu Ali al-Anbari, the Caliph's right hand, after the defeats suffered by ISIS in Iraq and Syria at the beginning of the year. Previously, al-Afri was responsible for coordinating the central government with the emirs of the various regions of the caliphate in formation. A fundamental task. He also has the last word on everything concerning the actions of martyrdom and the "feminine" matter.
Franco Iacch
