Islamic State propaganda chief killed in Iraq airstrike

Ibrahim al-Ansari was an 'important Islamic State leader' whose work included recruiting foreign fighters and encouraging 'terror attacks' in western countries.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

31 March, 2017

Ibrahim al-Ansari was described as an 'important IS leader' [AFP]

An Islamic State group propaganda chief was killed alongside four associates in a US-led coalition airstrike in the Iraqi border town of al-Qaim, the coalition said on Thursday.

Colonel Joseph Scrocca, spokesman for the anti-IS coalition, said that Ibrahim al-Ansari was an "important IS leader" whose work included recruiting foreign fighters and encouraging "terror attacks" in western countries.

The March 25 airstrike that killed al-Ansari also destroyed a multimedia operation team, said another Defence Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Their propaganda efforts included the brainwashing of young children to perpetuate IS' brutal methods," the source said.

The remote town of al-Qaim is in the Euphrates Valley, at the border with Syria.

According to the Pentagon, the Euphrates Valley could become the last bastion of the Islamic State following the fall of their strongholds in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria.