ANKARA
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense said in a written statement Wednesday that Daesh’s deputy leader and other senior Daesh members were killed in a U.S.-led international coalition airstrike.
Abu Alaa al-Afri, deputy leader of Daesh chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed when coalition forces targeted a meeting of Daesh members in the Tal Afar area west of Mosul, according to the statement.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it was aware of reports about Afri's death, but "have no information to corroborate these claims".
The command, however, confirmed that coalition aircraft did not strike a mosque, which was reported by some media outlets.
"We have significant mitigation measures in place within the targeting process and during the conduct of operations to reduce the potential risks of collateral damage and civilian casualties," the command added.
Iraq has been in a security vacuum since June 2014, when Daesh overran Mosul and declared a self-styled caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.
