A Daesh spokesman confirmed the death of the militant group’s second in command in a new audio recording Tuesday, according to AFP.
Abu Mutaz al-Qurashi also known as Abu Muslim al-Turkmani was killed by a US airstrike near the Iraqi city of Mosul on August 18.
“America is rejoicing over the killing of Abu Mutaz al-Qurashi and considers this a great victory,” the spokesman said in the recording, which was posted on various jihadi websites.
Al-Turkmani is believed to have been a powerful figure in the Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s circle.
The militant was an Iraqi army colonel in Saddam Hussein’s government but joined Sunni jihadist groups after being decommissioned following the American occupation of the country.
