Coalition airstrikes over the past month have taken out two Islamic State leaders with links to last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris, along with eight other key figures in the terrorist group.
Charaffe al Mouadan, an Islamic State member directly linked to the Paris attack cell leader, was killed in Syria on Dec. 24, Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said Tuesday that al Mouadan was “actively planning additional attacks against the West,” but declined to say if any specifically targeted the U.S. homeland.
Two days later, on Dec. 26, an airstrike killed Abdel Kader Hakim in Mosul, Iraq. Hakim was part of an Islamic State external operations group who facilitated attacks against the West and had links to the Paris attack network, according to a Defense Department release.
Many questioned the U.S. strategy to bomb from the air and train local forces on the ground following the wave of terrorist attacks in Paris that killed more than 100 people, and proved the terrorist group could attack beyond its strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
“It could have happened here,” Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., said in the days following the Nov. 13 attacks. “We need a strategy that includes unleashing American airpower in a way that can actually crush and defeat them in Iraq and Syria a broader strategy diplomatically and militarily for the dozens of countries that we’re seeing ISIS presence in.”
The French stepped up their involvement in the air campaign following the attacks, although Warren declined to say if they were involved in the strikes that targeted those with ties to Paris.
But Warren said taking these Islamic State leaders, as well as eight others over December, off the battlefield is beginning to impact the Islamic State’s ability to operate and has contributed to recent victories in Iraq at Ramadi and Sinjar.
“Part of those successes is attributable to the fact that this organization is losing its leadership. We are striking at the head of this snake,” he said. “We haven’t severed the head of this snake yet, and it’s still got fangs, we have to be clear about that. There’s much more fighting to do.”
Despite the losses, Warren said the U.S. estimates of 20,000 to 30,000 Islamic State fighters remain unchanged.
“They have a robust recruiting program,” he said.
