3 ISIS leaders plotting attacks on Europe killed in Raqqa

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A coalition airstrike in Raqqa last week killed three ISIS leaders who were involved in recruiting foreign fighters and plotting terror attacks in Europe, the US Department of Defense announced Tuesday.

The airstrike on December 4 killed Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, both of whom provided assistance for the terrorist attacks in Paris November last year that killed at least 130 people. 

The third ISIS leader killed in the strike was Walid Hamman. He had been convicted in a Belgium court in absentia for a terror plot that was thwarted by authorities in 2015. 

“The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike,” reads a statement from Peter Cook, Pentagon Press Secretary.

“Since mid-November, the coalition has now successfully targeted five top ISIL external plotters, further disrupting ISIL’s ability to carry out terrorist operations beyond Syria and Iraq,” Cook’s statement continues. 

The coalition has gained a wealth of intelligence about the militant group as they oust ISIS from key cities. In Manbij, 4.5 terabytes of information was discovered when the city was liberated in the summer. 

Coalition members have also focused on sharing information amongst each other and are working with the international policing body INTERPOL to gather and disseminate intelligence as part of their efforts to ultimately defeat the terrorist group internationally. 

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via Defense News