ISIS Confirms Death Of Its Propaganda Chief, Killed By U.S. Airstrike

BEIRUT (Reuters) – On Monday the so-called Islamic State or ISIS confirmed the death of its propaganda chief, whom the Pentagon said was killed in a U.S.-led air strike in Syria’s Raqqa province last month.

A statement posted online by the militant group paid tribute to Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Furqan. The statement just referred to him by his alias.

It did not say when, where or how he had died.

The Pentagon said last month that a U.S.-led coalition air strike on Sept. 7 had killed al-Fayad.

It said he was minister of information, overseeing Islamic State’s propaganda, and a prominent member of its Senior Shura Council, or leadership group.

The ISIS statement referred to al-Fayad as head of its media arm.

The air strike took place near Raqqa, de facto capital of ISIS in northern Syria, and targeted al-Fayad while he was on a motorcycle outside his house, the Pentagon said.

ISIS controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and has broadcast its beheadings of journalists and aid workers over the past few years. The group has sympathizers in several countries who have carried out bombings and shootings of civilians.

(Reporting by John Davison and Ali Abdelatti in Cairo; Editing by Catherine Evans)

IMAGE: Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province in this June 30, 2014, file photo.REUTERS/Stringer/Files