'IS leader linked to Paris attack mastermind killed'

Washington, Dec 30: A Syria-based IS leader with direct link to Paris attack mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in an airstrike, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Charaffe al Mouadan was killed in an airstrike on December 24, Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the US military operation against Islamic State (IS), said on his Twitter account. Al Mouadan was actively planning attacks against the West, Warren said, vowing that the coalition will hunt IS leaders working to inspire attacks against the US and its allies, Xinhua reported. “As long as IS exterl attack planners are operating, the US military will hunt them and kill them,” Warren said, using an altertive acronym for the terrorist group.

The Pentagon said airstrikes by US-led coalition have killed 10 leaders of IS this month. On Monday, Iraqi security forces declared victory over the IS in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s western province of Anbar. (IANS)