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ISIS operative linked to Istanbul bombing has been killed, Pentagon says
Published April 21, 2017
U.S. forces in Syria have killed a top Islamic State operative who played a key role in the New Year’s Eve attack on an Istanbul nightclub, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Abdurakhmon Uzbeki was a “close associate” of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIS terror network.
“Confirmed: death of senior #ISIS terrorist & #Baghdadi associate via US military operation near Mayadin, #Syria. We will reach u anywhere,” Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy for Global Coalition to Counter ISIS, said on Twitter.
Confirmed: death of senior #ISIS terrorist & #Baghdadi associate via US military operation near Mayadin, #Syria. We will reach u anywhere. pic.twitter.com/Y1MYBwx67o
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) April 21, 2017
Central Command spokesman, Col. John Thomas, said Uzbeki was killed in a ground operation on April 6.
Thomas said Uzbeki helped ISIS move foreign fighters and funds, and played a key role in plotting terror attacks.
Thomas didn't provide details on Uzbeki's role in the Istanbul attack, in which a gunman opened fire inside a crowded nightclub. Dozens of people were wounded.
Turkish authorities nabbed the suspected gunman, an Uzbek national, in Istanbul a week later.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/isis-operative-linked-to-istanbul-bombing-has-been-killed-pentagon-says