The ISIS group’s second in command has been killed in a US raid in Syria, Pentagon chief Ashton Carter confirmed Friday, in a move he said would hamper the operational ability of the militants.

“The removal of this ISIL leader will hamper the ability for them to conduct operations inside and outside of Iraq and Syria,” Carter told reporters of the death of Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, referring to him as Haji Imam and saying he served as finance minister for the group.

Carter and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the announcement Friday at a news conference at the Pentagon.

US forces kill senior Daesh leader in raid

US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter confirmed on Friday that several key leaders of Daesh, including the group’s second in command, were killed in a US raid in Syria earlier this week.

Carter told at a press conference in Washington that the US forces had killed a senior Daesh leader known as Haji Iman, marking a further erosion of top leadership in the terrorist group.

“We are systematically eliminating Daesh’s cabinet,” Carter said.

“The removal of this leader will hamper the ability for them to conduct operations inside and outside of Iraq and Syria,” Carter told reporters on the death of Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, referring to him as Haji Iman and saying he served as finance minister for the group.

The US defence secretary said that Haji Iman was a “well-known terrorist” within Daesh ranks dating backs to its earliest iteration as al-Qaeda in Iraq….

The killing is the second of a top Daesh commander in weeks.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon said a man known as “Omar the Chechen” was dead after suffering injuries in a US-led coalition strike in northeastern Syria.

Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli is seen in an undated picture from the U.S. Department of State

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