Two IS Senior Leaders killed in US-led Air Strike in Iraq

An offensive to retake Mosul is seen as the next battle for Iraqi forces.

Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari was a former al-Qaeda member who also led an IS battalion known for using homemade explosives, suicide bombers and mustard gas in its attacks, Mr Cook said in a statement.

They were the group’s deputy minister of war, who oversaw Mosul’s capture in 2014, and a senior military commander, spokesman Peter Cook said.

Hatim Talib al-Hamduni was a military commander in Mosul and the head of military police in the region, he added.

Two senior military leaders of so-called Islamic State (IS) were killed by a US-led coalition air strike near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the Pentagon says.

US-led air strikes have helped Iraqi forces and its allies to push IS back.