The United States forces killed Islamic States' No. 2 Haji Imam, the ISIS' finance minister, in an airstrike in Syria this week.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the news in a Pentagon press briefing that was joined in by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford.
Carter said that the United States-led coalitions is "systemically eliminating" the Islamic States' cabinet, which include Haji Imam.
He said that Imam had been regarded as a well-renowned terrorist within the ISIS' ranks, dating back to the organization's earliest iteration as al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"The removal of this [ISIS] leader will hamper the organization's ability ... to conduct operations both inside and outside of Iraq," Carter said.
The official likewise confirmed the death of another key leader of ISIS, Abu Omar al-Shishani otherwise known as Omar the Chechen, in an operation conducted earlier this month.
He also went on to say that the coalition's campaign plan is to collapse the ISIS' "parent tumor" both in Syria and in Iraq, with the focus on its power center in Mosul and Raqqa.
Imam had been widely reported as a senior leader and second in command within the organization. He was also believed as the one who watched over and steered the funding of ISIS. Moreover, word has it that Imam allegedly managed the day-to-day operations for the Islamic State plus its affiliates in Iraq, Syria and Libya.
Carter could not verify, though, if Imam was involved with the terrorist attacks launched in Paris and in Brussels a few days ago that took at least 31 lives and wounded more than 270 others.
CNN reports that the operation was originally planned to capture Imam alive, citing a United States official. However, the moment helicopters of the U.S special operations forces flew over the vehicle carrying Imam, something happened, triggering them to fire on the vehicle instead. The official would not say, though, what it was that made them decide to change the original plan.
In the meantime, the secretary also added that apart from killing Imam and Omar the Chechen, the U.S forces likewise targeted another top ISIS leader charged with paying fighters in Iraq, Abu Sara, along with the ISIS' quite a few associates.
