URGENT: Air strike kills ISIS army commander and deputy of al-Baghdadi

(IraqiNews.com) A senior US military official announced that a US raid killed Haji Mutazz, an ISIS deputy of the so-called Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Abdul Baset, an ISIS army commander in Iraq.

This comes at a time when US General James Terry, the head of the campaign led by US the so-called the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), announced earlier on Thursday that the international coalition launched 1361 raids against ISIS sites since the start of operations in August.

He added that “the international alliance stopped the advance of ISIS fighters as they face difficulty in movement and communication as a result of the air campaign. I think we have made significant progress in stopping their progress.”

He explained, “[the airstrike campaign] has been estimated to stop ISIS’ advance. They are trying at the moment to maintain the areas they control. I think they are facing problems in communications and supplies.”

He also stressed that the current pace of the bombing is suitable, even if the Iraqi leaders are demanding to intensify air strikes and heavy weapons, adding that “The basis is to build something inside the Iraqi army, giving it an offensive spirit, and we will continue the strikes.”

The US military announced on Wednesday that coalition aircraft launched 61 raids in Iraq since Monday, mostly in the north of the country, what constitutes a steady increase for the rate of the raids carried out against the organization in the past few weeks.