Air Strike in Iraq Reportedly Kills IS Deputy Leader

A picture provided by the US Department of Defense shows smoke rising from airstrikes targeting Islamic State militants near the Khazer checkpoint outside of the city of Erbil in northern Iraq, 08 August 2014. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The second-in-command of Islamic State (IS) was reportedly killed in air strike, carried out by the US-led coalition in northern Iraq.

According to a spokesman of the Iraqi Defence Ministry, Abdul Rahman Mustafa Mohammed, also known as Abu Alaa al-Afri, was inside a mosque in Tal Afar, which was targeted.

The deputy leader was meeting dozens of militants in the mosque, who were also killed in the air strike, the BBC reports.

Unconfirmed reports from the recent weeks claimed that he had taken temporary charge of IS operations.

According to Iraqi security sources, the change in leadership was necessitated after IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been incapacitated in an air strike in northern Iraq in March.

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