The so-called Islamic State (IS) second-in-command has been killed in an airstrike in al-Qa'im city, some 400 km northwest of the capital Baghdad, Iraqi state TV reported on Saturday. The Iraqi TV cited intelligence sources as saying that IS second-in-command leader, Ayad Hamed Al Jumail, was killed in an air strike that accurately targeted one of the terror group's bastions in al-Qa'im city". In a statement, the Iraqi Intelligence Directorate said, "Based on intelligence tip-offs, the Iraqi Air Forces bombarded a gathering of IS military leaders in al-Qa'im, in western Anbar Governorate, leaving the group's second-in-command killed". Other IS military leaders including Turki Jamal al-Dulaimi, the group's military official in al-Qa'im and Salem Muzaffar al-Ajmi, the group's administrative leader were also killed in the shelling, the statement read. However, the sources have not specified a particular date for the bombardment. The terror group has yet to comment on the statement. In August, 2016, Iraqi media outlets said 19 IS leaders including al-Jumail had been killed in airstrikes in Mosul. Al Jumail, known as Abu Yahia, was the Minister of War in the terror group and second-in-command to its commander, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He was also nicknamed as the Emir of Iraq. The intelligence sources confirmed he was an intelligence officer in the Iraqi Army in the Saddam Hussein era before the US invasion in 2003. Since February 19th, the Iraqi forces, supported by the US-led International Coalition, have launched the 'We are coming, Nineveh' offensive to oust IS from the right bank of Mosul, the terror group's last stronghold in Iraq. But the strikes have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent civilians. On March 24th, the coalition command announced it would open an investigation into airstrikes on March 17th that killed more than 300 civilians.
