A top leader for ISIS was killed during an operation this week, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced on Friday.
Carter said Haji Iman, also known as Abu Alaa Afri, was a finance minister who oversaw all the funding for ISIS' operations. His killing will hamper the organization’s ability to conduct operations inside and outside Syria. Carter did not confirm where the efforts to kill him took place. Haji Iman has been described as a second-in-command leader, but Carter did not refer to him that way.
The news comes after officials told NBC News earlier this month that top ISIS commander Omar al-Shishani — also known by his nickname Omar the Chechen — was believed killed in a U.S. airstrike in Syria.
“We are systematically eliminating ISIL’s cabinet," Carter said Friday, using an acronym for the group.
