BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) said Monday that a senior operative considered the group’s information minister had been killed, confirming an earlier Pentagon report. An ISIS statement on social media affirmed the “martyrdom” of Abu Mohammad al-Furqan, the nom de guerre of Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, saying he was an “emir” of the group’s central media body. Wa’il”, was killed in a precision strike on September 7 near Raqa, the Syrian city that is the de facto capital of the Islamic State jihadist group. Since it announced a self-styled caliphate across Iraq and Syria in 2014, ISIS has become notorious for broadcasting its macabre tactics. The group’s online network has taken advantage of social media’s instant publishing power to circulate footage of mass killings and beheadings.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 11, 2016 01:41 UTC