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Eliminating Targets: Death of ISIS #2 Leader

Posted: March 25th, 2016

This morning, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced the death of ISIS’ number two leader, Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Mustafa al-Qaduli, also known as Haji Imam. In addition to serving as ISIS’ chief financial minister, Al-Qaduli reportedly played a critical role in overseeing ISIS’ daily operations and maintained a close connection to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Secretary Carter confirmed that al-Qaduli was killed during a special forces operation, and his death signifies another important step in the campaign to defeat ISIS.

According to The Cipher Brief expert and Senior Fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, Dr. Michael W.S. Ryan, the deaths of al-Qaduli, as well as another high-ranking al Qaeda operative, Omar al-Shishani, earlier this month, indicate that the U.S. “has clearly stepped up its war against ISIS and has become much more effective at eliminating specific targets.”

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