WASHINGTON – The Pentagon says a coalition airstrike in Syria has killed a senior Islamic State leader, who has been responsible for moving fighters and weapons from Libya to Syria.
A senior U.S. official says Tariq bin Tahar al-'Awni al-Harzi was killed by a U.S. drone strike. The official was not authorized to discuss the operation publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.
Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, says al-Harzi was killed June 16 in Shaddadi. He says al-Harzi coordinated the use of suicide bombing attacks in Iraq and his death will hurt the Islamic State's ability to move foreign fighters in and out of the region.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed economic sanctions on al-Harzi last September.
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