White House confirms key Daesh leader killed in US air strike in Iraq

The second-in-command of Daesh terrorist group was killed during a US air strike in Iraq on Tuesday, the White House said.

According to ABC News, Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, also known as Hajji Mutazz ... was killed in a US military air strike on August 18 while traveling in a vehicle near Mosul, Iraq, along with an [IS] media operative known as Abu Abdullah.

White House spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that "Al Hayali's death will adversely impact [IS]'s operations given that his influence spanned [IS]'s finance, media, operations and logistics,".

The White House said the dead leader was a "primary coordinator" for moving weapons, explosives, vehicles and people between Iraq and Syria.

Mutazz had been in charge of IS operations in Iraq and was "instrumental in planning operations over the past two years", including the group's offensive in Mosul in June of last year, US officials said.