Islamic State’s “brides emir” killed in Salahuddin air raid
Airstrike by the US-led international coalition aircraft.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) A senior Islamic State leader who procured women captives to militants was killed in an air raid east of Salahuddin, a local source in the province said Wednesday.
Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that warplanes, which the source did not identify, killed Abul-Hareth al-Iraqi in a strike on al-Boujomaa village in Mutaibija. Another companion was also killed in the raid, said the source.
“al-Iraqi was from Tal Afar, and was in charge of one of the biggest detention facilities for women captured in the summer of 2014 in Sinjar,” said the source. “He was later referred to as “brides emir”, being in charge of procuring female hostages for Islamic State’s leaders.
Since they declared a self-styled “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014, Islamic State militants have notoriously held civilians as human shields and used women as sex slaves. They also shot dead civilians while attempting to flee their havens.
Islamic State had lost more than 25.000 local and foreign members by the time Iraqi forces concluded a campaign to retake Mosul, the group’s former capital in Iraq. The government is eyeing military offensives at the few remaining IS havens, including in Salahuddin.